Soul of a dragon
by ObsidianNoir
Summary: Issei never expected to die by a crazy girlfriend with black wings and a light spear. On the other hand, he never expected to be friends with a Magician either, who he met two years ago and went through a very crazy experience in Kyoto. Let's hope he could help him out there. Or one of the many souls around him. Semi-Si with crossover power. Slight AU past.
1. A friend of magic

Issei Hyoudou panted heavily as he ran down the streets.

He was not having a good time lately.

First, the sun was burning brightly and for some reason, it makes him feel very sluggish, like he was some kind of NEET!

…

Alright, he somewhat was, but that was beside the point!

Second, he had that dream of his beautiful, sexy and big tittied girlfriend killing him, by stabbing a light spear into his heart!

Of course, at first, Issei thought it was that. A dream, so he went to school like always, surrounded by cute girls…

Who sadly hated him for his dream and passion. Still, the young boy picked his victories, even if he could only look, not touch.

At least he had his loyal friend and brothers in arms, Motohama and Matsuda, who felt the same pain as he did.

Then the day took a turn to the worse.

They didn't remember her. Yuuma Amano was erased from their memories, despite the fact that they met her.

Not only from their memories, but everything on his phone related to her was gone too.

That was the moment when Issei realized that something was wrong.

The dream wasn't a dream.

Which lead us to this moment, where he is standing in front of a certain small house, knocking on the door in panic.

Because a certain someone in him didn't want to tell him anything!

"Like I said, don't wanna."

The pervert frowned at his left arm.

"Ddraig, you can be an asshole sometimes."

"Cry me a river."

Not falling for the bait, Issei shook his head and focused back on knocking on the door.

"Sid, open the door! Code rainbow!"

Loud cursing sounded from the building and he could hear some shuffling inside.

"Fuck my-I'm coming!"

Hearing the muffled voice made the future Harem King relax for a little and the sight in front of him when the door opened even more.

Obsidian Noir. Or how he liked to call him, Sid. For some reason he wanted to be called like that and his ID had that name. Issei always thought he was someone with middle school syndome, but that didn't bother him much.

A foreigner, Vietnamese and one eighty meters tall, who lived alone in this city without any relatives. Barely in the start of his twenties, the young man managed to make a living by himself.

And he was in the middle of eating bread and he was still dressed in his black pajamas, looking very tired as if he only woke up. His short black hair, messy as it is, only cemented that impression in him.

If it weren't for a certain event in their past, they would have nothing to do with each other.

Or Issei wouldn't know that the supernatural was at work for his current dilemma.

Anyway, the man the pervert nicknames Sid slowly chewed on his bread as he took a long look at his visitor.

Then he gulped the food down and cracked his neck a little.

"What kind of youkai did you piss off this time?"

His statement insulted the host of the red dragon, but he managed to hold his tongue. Right now, he needed answers.

"Remember that girlfriend I told you about?"

Sid scratched his chin for a short moment, and then gestured him inside, a semi serious expression on his face.

When he closed the door, he turned to Issei with crossed arms and raised his right eyebrow, his small scar deforming a little in response.

"Yeah. What, did she dump you?

Frantically, he shook his head while they walked into the plain looking kitchen. Sitting down, the teenager thought about how to phrase it.

In the end, he decided to let his storming emotions out.

"She impaled me!"

At first, the foreigner stared at the pervert with a blank look as he sat in front of him on the table.

After that, a look of disgust appears on his face and he leans away from the teenager.

"Eww."

"Not like that!" Issei slammed his hands on the table when he stood up, trying to ignore the rumbling laughter inside his head. "She had black wings and all that! Threw a light spear right into my chest!"

Sid calmly sipped from his cup of milk and then hummed in thought for a short moment. Then, without missing a beat, he snapped his finger and pointed at him as he rests his elbow on the table.

"Sounds like a fallen angel."

How does he-

The teenager visibly stopped himself from blurting out the question and a frown graced his face.

"...Magic?"

Amused, the owner of the house nodded.

"Yes. So...you got stabbed by a fallen angel. Did something else happen?"

His forehead wrinkled and Issei scratched his cheek.

"She said something about how I was a danger because of a Sacred Gear, probably meant Ddraig, then flew away. Last thing I remember is some red haired beauty standing over me with big boobs."

Finishing his drink, the pervert's friend narrowed his eyes. These eyes are directed at his left arm and he groaned in a tired tone.

"Ddraig, you could have told him yourself."

The voice chuckled inside Issei's head.

"It's more amusing to see your exchanges."

"Damn lizard..." Sid sighed as he rubbed his forehead. Then he looked up with boredom written all over his face and pointed at the pervert again. "Pretty sure you died, got reincarnated and are now a devil."

A short silence filled the room.

It was instantly broken when the student abruptly stood up with wide eyes and a gaping expression, slamming the chair behind him away.

"What?!"

The host raises his finger...and lowers it again in order to tap it on the table, a contemplating expression on his face.

"Either that, or a vampire. Zombie maybe, but you sound as stupid as always."

Issei bristled at the accusation and jumped over the table to hold Sid up at his collar.

"Hey!"

"Let's test this..." The older one of the two wasn't too fazed at his outburst and cleared his throat. "Amen." A flash of pain caused the future Harem King to flinch back, letting go of Sid and covering his head in discomfort.

And his friend only took another sip from his damn milk.

"Yup, devil."

Said devil grumbled under his breath as he picked up the chair again and sat down on it. Crossing his arms, he sighed in a very tired manner.

"So what does that mean?!"

"Someone wanted to kill you because of the lizard. Threat bullshit or something like that." He gestured with his right hand nonchalantly. "Then Rias-"

"Wait, Gremory?"

Issei's confused interruption lead to Sid sending him a flat stare as he tilted his head slightly.

"Who else in this area has big tits and long red hair? I thought you knew she was a devil."

"I...kind of slacked off in training?" Issei said with a nervous laugh while scratching the back of his head. Immediately, the host glared at his left arm.

"Ddraig?"

"Payback for the whole boredom that his life became. If he couldn't figure it out, I don't have to tell him," the dragon inside him said, sounding like he was pouting.

"And the fallen angel and death?" Sid asked with the disapproval of a parent.

"Not my fault. He was too busy being a lovestruck baby to listen to me."

The teenager sent his left hand a betrayed frown, before looking up to see his friend shake his head in frustration.

"Anyway, probably the person who saved you."

As a response, the pervert moved his hands in front of him...and started to grope the air, humming in thought. His left hand was on the imagined breast of Rias Gremory. The left one on the imagined breast of his savior.

Both were identical.

"Huh...Now that you say that..."

A tap brought him out of his thoughts and he turned his attention back to his friend, who looked a bit impatient. But not judging.

Issei smiled lightly. A true bro.

"Anyway, she is a devil. Who recruited you into her peerage."

"What's that?"

At his confused question, Sid frowned, covering his eyes then in order to answer him. A while later, he raised his finger, as if a light bulb lightened up over his head.

"Kind of like Pokemon. She 'caught' you into her team. You also got some kind of role assigned. Like knight or bishop."

"Wait, so I have super powers now? Like those in Kyo-"

Instantly, the teenager covered his mouth and the two of them had wide eyes, followed by sighs of relief.

They almost went back there.

Never again.

Sid cracked his fingers out of habit and started to explain.

"Well, you had super powers to begin with. You only got a buff on top of it." A wry smile was sent at Issei. "Though you are now vulnerable to anything related to the big G. Including prayers, his name, holy water and all that shit."

The previous excitement of being stronger faded away to disappointment. He slumped down a little.

"Oh man..." A desperate expression appeared on his face. "What should I do now?!"

"Talk to your trainer, also known as Rias?" At Issei's confusion, the young adult sighed and made a shoo motion with his hand. "She is the one who revived you. Try to get some answers from her."

"Good idea!" The pervert stood up and was about to rush to the door...Then he stopped and turned back to Sid with sparkling eyes. "You think I can touch her boobs?!"

"I don't know, ask her." He shrugged, not caring about his fetish. Just as Issei nodded and was about to run out again, a hand stopped him on his shoulder. "Also, be careful. Whoever she is, Yumi or whatever wants you dead. If she finds out you are still alive, she will finish the job."

Phantom pain filled the reborn devil's chest and he clutched it as he winced. Hesitantly, he took a shaky breath and pleading eyes met Sid's.

"Can't you ask...one of your friends to cover me?"

He opened his mouth, but then closed it again. His tired and neutral features were replaced by a more soft expression.

"I can try. Wait a minute."

Issei smiled, forgetting the pain of his death and everything involved with it for a moment, as the foreigner closed his eyes and began to mutter quietly.

It almost looked like he held a conversation.

After that, he nodded a first times, as if in agreement.

At last, he opened his eyes again and took a deep breath before patting the Japanese boy on the back.

"Okay, got someone who volunteered." A flat stare met Issei's face as his mouth opened in a wide grin. "And no, it's a guy. Monkey boy to be specific. Don't worry, you won't see him as long as you don't land in any shit storm."

Naturally, the teenagers face froze in shock. But he couldn't object because they already reached the door and Issei was already outside.

One final wave of goodbye, and the host slammed the door shut.

Dead silence filled the area, beside the occasional bird chirping cheerfully.

Following that, a scream of frustration was sent to the heavens.

"Why do I never get the boobs?!"


	2. Friend, nun and lots of talk

Shivering, Issei was very busy trying to delete the events that just occurred from his memories. Sitting on a bench in the middle of a nice, quiet park, the new devil stared blankly at the piece of paper in his hands.

His first contract...and it was a horror beyond belief.

"Wow, you look like you met Cthulu."

The voice startled him as he jumped and almost fell of the bench. Seeing the source of the voice, he let out a sigh of relief and stopped clutching the piece of paper to his chest.

Being a devil was meant to be a secret after all.

It was Sid, clad in a normal red hoodie, with said hood on, and blue jeans, drinking from a can of cola. He let out a satisfied breath after finishing it and threw it into the trash can. After that, he sat down next to the devil and leaned his right arm to the bench back.

"What happened?"

Issei sighed at the question and his body lost all tension as it slumped over like a puppet with no strings.

"First devil summoning..."

"Didn't go to well?" Sid asked with a slight wince, despite the smile on his face.

His pity only served to depress the boy more and the gloomy aura intensified.

"Here I was, ready to grant an awesome wish like the cool devil that I am..." Tears were streaming down his face as he looked his friend into the eyes, who visibly recoiled in shock. "And it turns out the summoner was a super muscular guy, total creep, who wanted to become a damn magical girl! While being dressed in said magical girl outfit! I mean, that is disgusting and impossible!"

As he cried and covered his face, from the horror he was forced to witness, the foreigner patted his back as he whistled in morbid amazement.

"Wow, when I said your bad luck is inhuman, I didn't mean it literal." He scratched his cheek. "Anyway, the wish isn't impossible, but..."

"Wait, he can become a magical girl?" Issei questioned with wide eyes, shock written all over his face. Sid bit his lips as he averted the gaze of the wielder of Boosted Gear.

"I know a guy who could grant that wish." He shook his head and sighed. "But you do not want him to interact with you. Shit always goes down where he appears."

This made the student click his tongue in frustration.

"Damn, here I thought I could grant his wish..." The previous hope out of his body, he slumped down again on the bench. "Prez is so going to be mad at me."

"Not your fault, so I don't think she will punish you." After a comforting smile, he stopped for a moment. Following that, he asked interested: "Speaking of which, how did it go?"

Remembering the moment, a big goofy grin appeared on his face and the devil put his arm around his seat neighbor.

"It was awesome!" He exclaimed and his face came closer to Sid's face, as he extends his other arm, as if he presented something to him. "Prez is such a nice person and they all welcomed me! Explained me a lot of stuff and they were very patient on top of that! Did you know that Akeno, Koneko and the damn handsome Kiba are also devils?"

"Yes."

The Red Dragon Emperor chuckled in a prideful manner and distanced himself from the young man.

"Knew it! Well, they are and-Wait, what?" Finally having processed his statement, Issei trailed off and gave him a look of confusion.

Said person just stared back, flatter than a paper.

"Did you think I wouldn't investigate Rias after you got my attention for her?" Smugly, he pointed at himself. "Magic. Anything else?"

Despite the downer, the student regained his happiness and gladly recounted the events with a girn:

"Well, she gave me a run down of all the factions and explained me how a devil works and all that." He paused for a moment, looking up as he tapped his chin. "Also, she made me show off Ddraig. She was surprised I already knew how to use him." A dry chuckle escaped him as he stared at his left arm. "The damn lizard was right about that Longinus stuff and how he was one of the strongest Sacred Gears."

"Is it really called Boosted Gear?" Sid asked in an equally dry tone. Issei nodded and the older one of the two groaned. "The name still sounds stupid."

"That's rich, coming from you," the future harem king stated with crossed arms and narrowed eyes. The Vietnamese man shrugged as a reply.

"Touche. So, anything else?"

The devil's forehead wrinkled a little, as he closed his eyes. After a while of mental strain, the young man shook his head-

"That's it. I didn't go back yet."

Which reminded Issei of his failure.

He slumped down on the bench again with a slight whine.

This time, Sid made no movement to cheer him up again, instead enjoying the silence, while ignoring the gloominess radiating from the teenager.

"By the way, a Fallen Angel wanted to kill you. Thought you were a Stray Devil."

The offhand comment surprised the devil, who tilted his head.

"Stray?" Then he processed the first part of his words.

Naturally, he jumped up from his seat and exclaimed in shock: "Wait, I got attacked?!"

"No, monkey boy kicked his ass and then I shanked him in the butt." A flat look is send at him. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Oh, thanks," Issei replied as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment. He took a deep breath and sat down again. "So what is a stray?"

"Devils without a master. They often turn batshit insane and have to be put down like stray dogs. Hence the name stray."

"Huh..." the student slowly nodded impressed at the knowledge as he stared to the ground. This is followed by a frown when he turned back to his friend. "Got any info from the fallen who tried to kill me?"

A tired sigh was his response and Sid took the hood of his head, revealing his relatively tamed short hair.

"Not really. A loyal type and you know how I hate to force the matter. Can't be that important anyway. I mean, what could he know? A war starting conspiracy?"

He snorted at the thought of that and ran his hand though his hair. Issei nodded to that statement and sighed.

"Would have been too convenient, huh?"

"By the way...About Koneko..."

Hearing his hesitation, the devil gestured with his hand to go on. After scratching his head awkwardly, he muttered a 'whatever' and clasped his hands together.

"Keep an eye on her. Hell, better would be if you spend more time with her."

"Why are you interested in her?" Issei asked, but slowly a perverted grin appeared on his face, hoping this was the direction he was going for.

Was he getting approval from him to hit on her?!

The next words destroyed the hope of his acceptance as the older man lowered his head tiredly.

"She is her sister."

"Her?" The Sacred Gear user questioned with a raised eyebrow. Then, after searching his mind for people that could fit that vague label, his eyes widened. Immediately, he waved his hand in front of himself, disbelief all over his face. "Nononono, they look nothing alike!"

At his reaction, the foreigner snorted in amusement.

"Yeah, I know. It's really weird." Somberly, his small grin thinned. "Anyway...I'm very sure that she is her sister. She is traumatized because of what happened in the past and won't use senjutsu or youjutsu. She thinks it's too dangerous for anyone to use, including herself. Just try and...help her with that. Don't push it though."

That sounded...very bad. Issei frowned at that. He pecked the small girl as quiet, but that there was pain buried beneath the cold face…

It filled him with determination!

"Alright, I'll do my best!" He exclaimed as he stood up with a raised fist. Just as quickly, he turned back to Sid and pointed a finger at him with a serious expression. "But I get to touch her boobs."

"Which one?" Despite the question, the Vietnamese man had a look of dread on his face.

"What do I like?" Issei countered back and his friend palmed his face in frustration.

"On the one hand, good. We had the talk about pedophilia and lolicons already."He removed his hand and with a half open mouth, a face of disappointment is directed at the pervert. "On the other hand, dude. Not cool." He stopped for a moment and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Well, pretty sure she wouldn't mind. Hell, she would welcome it." Instantly, he lowered his arms again and glared at Issei when he crossed his arms. "Still, totally against the bro code."

To that, the devil nodded somberly...followed by a big goofy grin.

"Not if I ask for permission."

Frustrated, Sid shook his head as he stood up and semi seriously punched the Sacred Gear user on the shoulder.

"I would like to say you are going to hell for that, but I guess it isn't such a bad place."

For a short moment, they stared at each other. Naturally, they couldn't keep up the facade and burst out into chuckling, both holding the other on the shoulder.

But in a heartbeat, all amusement faded away from the foreigner face and Issei felt his clutch on his shoulder starting to intensify.

Surprisingly, it started to hurt.

"Seriously, not cool though."

Before he could reply though, a loud crash distracted the two men and both turned their head towards the source at the same time.

What they see made Issei blush in embarrassment, while Sid only raised his eyebrow exasperatedly.

"Wow, and I thought that would only happen in anime."

A young girl, blonde and dressed like a nun, crashed with her trolley bag and all its contents were scattered all over the place.

Including panties, like the one she was flashing them.

"Owie..."

The devil shook his head and walked towards the victim, trying to curb down his excitement and picked up the veil on the ground for her. Absentmindedly, he noticed that his friend picked up the rest of her stuff and sorted them into the trolley.

"Here you go."

"Ah, thank you very much!" The blonde girl bowed down with a bright smile. Issei only had one thought inside his head.

Cute.

"My name is Asia Argento! A pleasure to meet you!"

As she raised her head, a bright, warm light radiated from her body and the devil had to avert his eyes, the innocence making him feel dirty for just having perverted thoughts. Still, he gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. Quickly, he looked back and bowed slightly.

"I-Issei Hyoudou! Likewise!"

Asia giggled a little at his antics and the student blushed again at her cuteness.

Sadly, a male voice interrupted them in a bored tone, making Issei frown for a bit.

"Got your bag."

The two of them turn to Sid, who carried said object back to the nun and gestured for her to take it.

"Ah, thank you! You didn't have to!" Her smile got replaced by uncertainty when the Vietnamese man's blank look is the only thing she received. Quickly, she pulled out a little notebook and hesitantly read from it. "Oh, uhm...Ari...gatou?"

This exchange confused Issei and behind the nun, he switched between pointing at Sid and at Asia with a raised eyebrow. The former just groaned and muttered:

"Devils and their cheating devices..."

"What? What do you mean?" The devil asked and tried to confused the adorable stares the nun gave them, rotating her head every second.

"You are talking Italian to her. I forgot that devils can speak any language automatically." After letting out another sigh, he cleared his throat and extended his hand with a pleasant smile. "Obsidian Noir. Li-liking the...country so-so far?"

The way his sentence sounded so broken and uncertain cemented the impression in Issei, that Sid was speaking in a language, unfamiliar to him.

"It was a new experience." The Italian clasped her hand together in delight. "Your Italian is very good! I'm impressed!"

"Thank you," the Vietnamese stated with a small mouth twitch indicating a smile. During that exchange, the Japanese approached him from the side and leaned to his ear to whisper.

"Since when can you speak Italian?"

Sid in response only slightly opened the right half of his mouth to mutter back, smile still in place:

"I can't. I have someone translate to me right now. Don't talk too fast, okay?"

If Asia was confused by their exchange, she didn't show it as she looked towards the sky with shining eyes.

"God really watches over me...sending two nice people to me, who can speak Italian in Japan!" Because she lowered her head in small sadness, looking to the ground, ignoring the pained gasp from the student. The older man patted his back with amused pity. Asia continued on, blissfully unaware of the agony the devil was in,"If only I was more diligent with my studies..."

"I think you are doing just fine!" Issei exclaimed loudly and strained joy, as he tried to overcome the pain in his body from the G-word.

"What...brings yooouuu... here? S-seeing the sights?" Sid followed up, giving the male teenager a comforting pat on the back in order for him to catch a breath. In response, Asia shook her head.

"Oh no. I've been assigned to the local church here." She laughed sheepishly as she hit her own head playfully. "But I got lost, hehe."

"Well, there is one church I know of here. We can bring you there."

The wielder of Boosted Gear ignored the incredulity on Sid's face as he said that and felt his face flush again when the girl grabbed his hands in gratitude.

"Truly?!" Sparkling eyes drilled into his own. "God must have sent you to me in order to help! Bless him!"

And the happiness got replaced by pain.

Truly, the path of Issei Hyoudou was paved with misfortune.

While he wiped off the blood that he spat out and clutched his head in agony, he felt a pull from his left side and his older friend held him in a headlock.

He did not look happy.

"Dude, you are a devil. Church is the last place you wanna go!" Sid hissed at him, carefully eying Asia, who walked off to some crying child.

"Hey, I don't have to enter it!" The devil argued back, but grinned afterward. "Worst come to worst, you are there, right?"

That only caused the headlock starting to choke him a little. As he fidgeted in the body trap, the culprit sighed loudly and let him go. Issei rubbed his neck a little.

For someone who wasn't a devil, his friend really had a grab when he wanted to.

"You are lucky I don't have anything better to do..." Bored, he pointed over to the nun. "By the way, she has super powers."

"What?"

The wielder of Boosted Gear did a double take and indeed, Asia knelt in front of the crying boy with closed eyes. He was just quick enough to witness a small light vanish and the wound that was on the boy's knee was gone.

Issei turned back to Sid with a raised eyebrow as he pointed at the girl.

"Sacred Gear?" He received a nod as a response and the pervert hummed impressed. Lately, a lot happened that was supernatural in nature…

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing."

Issei frowned at the voice inside his head. Sid mirrored his expression.

"What? Ever since that time, you barely used me. I feel neglected!"

The two of them glanced at each other for a short moment. A short moment, that exchanged thousand words.

These words reached to a conclusion that only had three words.

Ignore the dragon.

"Don't just ignore me!"

That is exactly what they did.

Either way, the devil walked towards the nun, followed by his older friend, right after a woman, the mother of the boy, bowed in thanks and left with her child.

Leaving Asia in mild confusion, as she stared after the two people.

"That is weird…" She muttered quietly, but Issei and Sid still caught that sentence.

"What is?"

The devil's question startled the healer, who blushed a little in embarrassment for simply leaving the two men so suddenly. She scratched her cheek and looked back at the mother's distant back.

"That woman...she didn't seem bothered by my power. It's...new."

Her eyes are filled with melancholy and become misty like, as if memories of bad times resurfaced.

A cute girl like her should not look sad. That was what went through Issei's mind at the moment.

Therefore, a distraction was needed!

"People are more accepting of stuff around here. Mostly because of a... little messenger?"  
Wiggling his eyebrows, he smirked at the Vietnamese, who returned it with a dry frown.

"Please, be more obvious. I beg you," Sid drawled sarcastically, but got spooked by Asia, who grabbed his hands in light speed.

"Mr. Noir, do you also have special powers?!"

Owlishly, said mister blinked at the sparkling face of the girl. Then, he slowly nodded, not sure how to phrase his words.

"Kind off." He bit his lips. "Help. Secret. Slow acceptance." A hesitant smile. "Good progress." He tilted his head. "Healer?"

The caveman speech perplexed the two teenagers, but after Asia connected the dots, comprehension dawned on her features.

"Yes. God has granted me this gift...Just like he did to you! Truly, he is a benevolent being."

While the devil gritted his teeth at another burst of pain, the adult laughed sheepishly as he averted his eyes, not wanting to correct her.

After that small exchange, the trio began to wander towards the church Asia searched for.

During that, Issei, well, didn't pray, but hoped that God wouldn't be mentioned anymore in the near future.

/

Luckily, his wish was granted, given that they could walk in relative comfortable silence. It didn't take long to reach the church and the two of them managed to convince Asia that they didn't have the time to enter the church, not telling her the fact that it might Issei.

The two men waved her goodbye, but the devil blushed lightly at her bright smile, stating that they should spend some time together again.

He would have loved to burn that beautiful moment inside his head…

If he were alone.

"Huh."

The nonchalant remark destroyed the bliss the Sacred Gear user felt and a frown appeared on his face.

"What?"

"That church...The fallen I killed. His presence is here," Sid stated as he scratched his chin, making an impressed noise. Not a 'I made an amazing discovery' impressed, but a 'the more you know' impressed.

Still, Issei paled exponentially.

"You mean-"

"The church is the base of your murderer? Probably," the foreigner finished his sentence and let out a sigh, as the devil tried to rush into the church, anger written all over his face.

Tried, because a strong grip on his arm stopped him. When the teenager turned around, a disapproving frown was in front of his face. "No, bad boy."

"But we have to save her!" The devil exclaimed, trying to escape his grasp and failing at it.

"We can't just run in, guns blazing! Who are we, Duke Nukem?!" Sid yelled back, after Issei stopped trying to escape.

The Japanese boy had no idea who Duke Nukem was, but he gestured with his arms in an agitating manner between the two of them.

"It worked the last time!"

"And it was fun!" Ddraig chimed in, making the adult frown at his left arm.

"Not talking to you, lizard!" He looked back up at Issei with crossed arms. "You do remember it sucked balls too, right?"

"Still don't get why. It was awesome," the dragon commented amused. His user on the other hand calmed down a little, but he still bit his lips, remembering just clearly what happened the last time.

Spiders still scared him when he saw them.

"Gotta agree with Sid here..." The fire reignited in his eyes. "But not with Asia! We are just going to leave her there? Alone?!"

"O-okay, chill first, alright?" After raising his hands in a placating manner, he began to pace around on the street. A while later, he turned back to Issei and took a calming breath. "Just...just talk with Rias first. She is your boss and you need to get her permission. Everything you do is reflected back at her." Sid pointed at himself with a frown. "You also know how I hate to do these last minute summons."

The devil gritted his teeth. It did not bode well with him, to ignore the threat in the old building. In the end, trust won over. He slowly exhaled his frustration out and nodded.

"But we are going to come back?"

The not-devil put his hand on his shoulder and gave him a small grin.

"Yes, we are." Amused, Sid snorted. "Besides, what can happen if we leave it alone for a day?


	3. Rocking the church

Hearing the door at the verge of being smashed in, Obsidian Noir grumbled as he got dressed into his jeans and a black hoodie, having a slight suspicion what was going to happen.

Given that he made a good deal in selling a house and finally had some alone time after some...excitement, one could say that the day was going really well.

Too well, so the man could not say he was surprised at the noise in front of his house.

When equipped in proper clothing, he opened the door. The sight somewhat surprised him.

Somewhat, because he would expect Issei being here. He came every two days, though he looked way more panicked and serious than normal porn would warrant.

What surprised Obsidian however, were the two other students with the newly reincarnated devil.

The newcomers both wore the Kuoh high school uniform just like Issei. One was a blonde teenager with a face one might call handsome. Though that handsomeness was strained by the look of confusion pointed at the adult.

The other one was a petite, white haired girl, blankly staring at Obsidian. Lolicons would call her a dream coming true.

Luckily, he wasn't a lolicon. At least now. The past might have been different, but he didn't quite remember.

Both of them were devils themselves. If the man wouldn't know any better, he would think that he owned them a soul or two.

Not like he hadn't souls in masses, but that wasn't relevant.

The girl's eyes widened slightly as she sniffed the air and the Vietnamese sweated a bit nervously. After a while, the small girl frowned and Obsidian let out a mental sigh of relief.

It was a good decision to wash himself more thoroughly than usual.

"I need your help to save Asia!" Issei exclaimed suddenly and Obsidian closed his eyes as if he was in pain.

"Damn you Murphy..." He exhaled a lot of air before opening his tired eyes. "What happened? It's only been a day."

"Issei, who-"

The handsome one was interrupted when the wielder of Boosted Gear grabbed the Vietnamese hand with determination.

"I tell you while we go! She is in danger."

"Okay then." Sid cracked his neck after a slight pause, groaning a little, before putting up his hood, shadowing his face. "Let's go."

"Issei, I am not sure we should do this. Is he able to handle himself?" The blonde one asked uncertain and the small girl nodded, wondering the same.

"He can use Magic and is hella strong!" The pervert exclaimed proudly.

"I'm more average. But worst case scenario, I know people that can help us," the adult stated as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, not used to the praise. These words however, cheered the dragon user even more and he hugged him tightly.

"I love you, buddy! Thanks!"

"Yeah, love you too," Sid said as he patted Issei and returned the hug with a small smile.

While ignoring the weird looks he received from the two other teenagers.

Was Issei that bad at school?

With that exchange over, the quartet began to run towards the church a few blocks away. At first they traveled in silence, but then the adult extended his arms towards the two students he didn't know, without missing a step or looking at them.

"By the way, Obsidian Noir. Nice to meet more non crazy devils."

"Yuuto Kiba. Likewise...I guess," the handsome replied, shaking the hand in confusion.

"...Koneko Toujou." The little girl on the other hand didn't take the hand and instead bowed her body slightly before focusing back on running.

Without changing a single muscle in her face.

"Pleasure." The adult put his hand into his jean's pocket and pulled small package out. He presented it to Koneko. "Want a biscuit?"

After pausing for just a short moment, she took one and started to nibble on it. Then she raised her thumb and a small sparkle appeared in her eyes.

Approval.

The hooded man chuckled warmly.

Just like an adorable, not hyperactive cat.

"Alright, we are going right now. What happened?" Obsidian questioned when he caught up to Issei and turned his head to him, who flinched at the memories. Resignation on his face, he recounted the events for him.

About the stray devil hunt and the explanation of peerage pieces.

About how he encountered Freed Sellzen, who ambushed him at the summoning ground and only got saved by Asia, who served as a distraction until Rias and the others arrived.

And how he spend time with the nun the next time, promising to be her friend...Just to get ambushed again, this time by Yuuma Amano, whose real name was Raynare.

Just to get saved by Asia again.

Obsidian grunted impressed in face of all that information.

"Well shit, that is a lot..." Unamused, he frowned at the pervert. "Seriously though, you really got rusty. I mean...two times getting your ass kicked?"

"See? I told you. But noooo, you just had to jerk off to porn," Ddraig complained, his voice sounding inside the heads of the two friends. Issei in turn glared first at his left hand and then back to Obsidian.

"Sorry I don't pick fights with super monsters left and right!" After the exclamation, he let out a deep sigh. "I guess I have to get back into Pre-you-know-what state, huh?"

"Yeah. In the past, you could have smelled those surprise attacks miles away, but now...geez. First thing you gotta do his getting your touch for it back. I'll send someone to watch over your training," the older man stated with a wry smile, shaking his head.

"But it's so boring!" The self-proclaimed harem king complained, causing Obsidian to frown.

"Do you want to have holes in your body again or not?"

"Ugh, fine..." Issei sulked. Seeing him acting like a child, the Vietnamese tilted his head slightly in order to listen the two other devils, slightly trailing behind.

Straining his ears, he got some bits.

"...t they are talking about?"

"...no idea."

No hearing anything interesting, he shrugged and focused back on running.

/

A while later and they arrived in an alley with a good view on the church. While Obsidian took watch, he listened to the planning going on behind him.

"The front door would be the quickest way to reach the sanctuary and through that the living quarters. That's where Asia probably is," Yuuto explained and the Vietnamese heard some paper unfolding from his back.

"Why do you have a blueprint from the building?" Issei asked flatly and the man chuckled amused.

Always had to focus on the small stuff.

"It's the basics when you assault an enemy base," the handsome devil said happily and even the Vietnamese could feel the sparkles behind him. Naturally, the unpopular boy made an annoyed noise.

This was his cue to turn his head around slightly as he leaned against the wall.

"Okay...how are we going to do this? Cardboard box stealth, Metal Gear Solid style? Or CS:GO P90 rush?"

At first he received blank looks, as the references went over their heads, making him sigh at their uncultured nature. But Issei quickly shook his head and yelled impatiently:

"The one that gets us the fastest in there!"

"P90 rush it is."

With those disappointed words, the quartet quickly ran towards the gate, which got swiftly broken by Yuuto with one of his swords. But as they neared the actual entrance, Obsidian abruptly stopped and groaned.

His senses told him that complications already arrived.

"What's wrong?" Koneko quietly asked him as the rest stopped.

"Fallen angels," the oldest of them replied dryly and began to crack his fingers. The small girl's eyes widened and sniffed the air. She immediately turned to Obsidian suspiciously. Not waiting for their shocked faces to disappear, he sternly glared at them.

"I'll handle the two of them." Before any objections could arrive, he send a look at Issei. "Go safe your girl." A small grin appeared on his face and a growl sounded in his voice. "Don't worry. Nobody will escape tonight."

There was still hesitation in their body language, as they send each other uncertain looks, but it is the wielder of Boosted Gear who gave him a hard slap on the shoulder.

"Alright, but don't you dare die!"

With those words, he rushed into the old building, followed by the two other students after they told him good luck. He snorted when they were gone and closed his eyes to focus. Still, a stray thought wandered in his head.

Amusing.  
There weren't many things that could kill him.

Just as the trio left him, he could hear the sound of wings unfolding. Casually, Obsidian stretched his arms as he opened one eye to see into the sky.

Witnessing two beings with black wings. One was the definition of a blond, twin tailed, small gothic lolita, a sadistic grin on her face. The other was dressed in a very skimpy, red secretary outfit, showing off her big cleavage. She was the one who spike first, as she shoved some of her long blue her from her face.

Her voice was full of arrogance.

"Pfeh, a mere human trying to face us?"

"Sixty four," the hooded man counted bored as he began to stretch his legs as well.

"Foolish mortals like you should know their place. But it is fun to see you struggle in vain, hehe!" The smaller devil giggled, twirling a pink light spear around in her hand.

"One hundred ninety two," Obsidian counted again, finishing up his stretching with his arms. Then he shook his body, jumping on one stop in a rhythmic manner.

"And-What are you doing?" The busty one questioned annoyed, after realizing that the man in front of her was not even remotely scared. Bored, said man looked up at her, shoving his hands into his hood pockets.

"I have a mental list of stupid one liners I heard from evil guys. And I'm not impressed," he explained and his mouth corners twitched a little.

The two fallen look at each other in silence. After a while, they both nod at the same time.

"You know what? Fuck it, let's just kill him!"

"Agreed."

"Huh, twenty two."

This final count led to the two woman growl in frustration and both threw their light spears at him. They traveled at inhumane speeds towards the mortal who insulted them and kept insulting them by keeping his eyes closed. At the velocity the weapons were going, it was impossible for the man to dodge.

To his defense, he didn't dodge at all.

Instead, he softly sighed...and shot his arms up, just in time to catch the spears, as they were about to pierce his face and heart respectively. Their tips almost touched his hoodie.

Almost.

By now, a white light radiated from his body, sizzling against the spears. His usual brown eyes glowed in a small blue light.

The shock the two females expressed could be compared to a thunder running through their veins.

"You are not the first fallen I killed," the human stated coldly as he clenched his fists, crushing the holy weapons into non existence. "Also, I want you to meet a friend of mine. She doesn't like you ripping of her style..."

The two fallen angel instantly raised their guard, looking around in order to spot that 'friend'. Meanwhile, Obsidian raised his hand...and snapped his finger.

"Summon."

All of a sudden, another person appeared next to him out of nowhere.

There was no warning, no magic seals or similar that could have foretold the newcomer. One moment she was not there and in the next she was.

Sweat ran down on their faces, not comprehending what was happening at the moment. That meant a lot, given that most fallen are at least centuries old.

The new person was bizarre. A young, short black haired woman, one head smaller than Obsidian, saluted as she was dressed in a white shirt and a black skirt, an easy going smile on her face.

Overall, she looked like a school girl.

If it weren't for the black wings on her back.

Many would mistake her for a fallen, just like his opponents.

But Obsidian was fully aware that she was one hundred percent Japanese, ergo, not a fallen.

"Kazuko, reporting for duty!"

The man simply nodded at her and pointed at the two opponents in front of him, making the girl follow his fingers.

"Lettuce?" The left finger was raised at the lolita. "Or melons?" The right finger was raised at the busty one.

The girl at his side hummed in thought as she tapped her chin. In the end, her smile becomes more cold when she looked up to the right.

"Never had melons, so I take that!" A small giggle escaped her. "Can I play around with her~?"

"Sure. I was planning to use mine as training dummies anyway. Getting to move my body a bit," Obsidian stated relaxed as he shrugged.

These words shot off the battle.

Immediately, Kazuko took to the sky in super sonic speed as she made a strong gust with her wings. Slamming her right hand into the blue haired ones face, she began to drag the fallen woman away from the church. Obsidian only saw how her left hand moved under her clothing in the chest area and pulled out a bladed fan before she went out of sight.

One problem dealt with.

His attention turned back to the lolita, just in time to duck away from another light spear sent at him.

"T-this means nothing! I still have the advantage!" The fallen exclaimed with anger, charging up another holy weapon in her hand as she floated in the sky.

The man didn't deign her with a reply and instead exhaled slowly in a relaxed stance, with his hands back in his pockets.

Then he stomped on the ground, burrowing his right foot into the earth and shot his leg upwards. This action caused a small shockwave, which in return send masses of dirt up in the air. The corrupted being tried to dodge out of the way, but the scale of the substance sent at her was too big and it hit her square in the face. It didn't do any real damage, only slightly shoving her up in the air a little, but her senses were sullied.

Literally.

As she rubbed her eyes in pain and spat out dirt, Obsidian didn't miss the chance. He walked towards the forest in a quick pace, hugged one of the trees and lifted it with gritted teeth, ripping it out of the earth.

With the natural weapon in his arms, he jumped.

When the brown girl managed to open one eye, she was ready just in time to feel said tree smack her in the face, towards the ground.

After she spiraled down, a loud crash sounded on impact, followed by a soft thud from the man's more graceful landing.

He raised himself slowly and dropped the tree. After he cleaned of the dirt from his hands, he put his right hand back into the hoodie pocket, while the other was at his side, clenched in a fist. And he waited in front of the fallen's body, head stuck inside the small crater.

A muffled scream of rage later and pure holy energy was released from her body as she ripped her head out of the earth.

Her aura cleaned off her entire body and her visage was distorted in pure vengeance, raw power sparking in her hand as her anger materialized two light spears at once.

"You...are...dead!"

Her roar actually shook the earth, scaring off the animals that didn't fly away yet.

Despite that, Obsidian stood there, impassively.

"I stopped counting that one after it passed the triple digits," he stated with a raised eyebrow.

This tore the final line of patience the fallen had left and cried out as she rushed at him, intending to ram the spears inside his bodies.

Switfly, she stabbed with her right spear, which he dodged with a head sway. Not discouraged by that, the fallen roared and tried to swing the other one towards his stomach.

Tried, because before she could finish the movement, his left fist burrowed itself into her stomach.

A power no normal human could have, made her spit out blood as her inner organs got squished by it and send her flying. With pained gasps, she looked at the man who softly blew on his fist and then rubbed them on his body to get her stench off it.

Anger bubbled up again and she intended to summon up another light spear.

Despite her intentions, Obsidian calmly walked over her, slowly revealing his right hand.

Holding a transparent, silvery dagger. It didn't look like it had any substance to it, its form slightly shifting like under water.

He was calm, because he already won. The face of fear and shock on her face told him that the girl realized that as well.

Frantically, she looked at her hands and moved them in panic.

Nothing happened.

"W-what did you do to me?! Why can't I use my light?!" She yelled, trying to back off, only to hit a wall.

"I disrupted the flow of your aura inside of you," the Vietnamese explained patiently as he eyes his personal weapon, after which he stared at her with a small grin. "Senjutsu 101."

"H-how can a mere human…?" She began to stutter, but stopped when she took a closer look at him. Eyes widened with realization and a shaky finger was pointed at him.

"Wait a minute...You aren't human! You are a hom-"

She never got to finish the sentence.

Having gotten close enough, Obsidian casually stabbed the knife into her throat, replacing her words with pained gargling as blood escaped her. In vain she grasped his hand, firmly holding the weapon.

But he did not let go. With a cold look, he observed her as her life force escaped her. Slowly, as her eyes became misty, he leaned in to her ear and whispered.

"That's rude. I'm as human as it gets."

With that said, he pulled the knife out and wiped off the blood on the clothes of the corpse. Hearing wings flutter behind him, he turned around calmly…

And backed off in disgust.

Kazuko was back, a wide grin on her face.

Holding a bloodied fallen in her right hand.

Bloodied being an understatement.

The previously good kept her was scattered all over her swelled and red beaten face. Her clothes barely existed on her body, as it is full with cuts and wide gashes, blood dripping from them to the ground.

And she was still breathing.

"Eww. Seriously? You couldn't just kill her?" Obsidian questioned, shaking his head in disgust.

"I thought you wanted to expand your collection," the girl giggled, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head.

"I already have-" He stopped his own irritation by closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. That done, he groaned. "This is such a pain...Fine." Quickly, he stabbed his dagger into the woman, who gasped in quiet pain, before slumping down as well after a while. "Going to deal with them later."

As he muttered that, he cleaned off the weapon, again, and turned to the only girl with bird wings that was not a corpse. She folded her hands behind her back and giggled for a moment before she leaned forward playfully.

"Anything else?"

"Nah, you can go now." After Obsidian waved her off, she saluted yet again and vanished as she appeared.

With no warning.

The man cracked his neck when she disappeared and let out a loud yawn.

Why did this always happen in the night?

Nonchalantly, after he was done with his neck, turned towards the forest...and bowed graciously, right arm moving into an L form in front of his chest.

"And how are you tonight, Miss Gremory, Miss Himejima?"


	4. Meet the devils

Rias Gremory was confused at the moment.

Actually, she had been confused for the last few days.

One of the things would be the fact that her newest pawn, Issei Hyoudou, already was able to use his Sacred Gear and showed some proficiency in street fighting, if the mock battle with her knight Yuuto was any indication.

Another fact that confused her was Issei's recent attempts of becoming friends with Koneko. He paid extra attention to her and tried to curb down his own perversity for her.

Emphasis on tried.

Lastly, she always wondered who his friend, Obsidian Noir, was. He always mentioned him when he talked about his own supernatural experience. Even when he clammed up about where exactly said experience came from and how he got it. Because of that, the female king did not have much knowledge of the man.

From what she could gather, he was an important person in his life and sounded like a good and reliable man.

She ignored the parts about him being a traitor, something about not being a true breasts man or having found love already.

That friend came to help her pawn in his rescue mission.

What she was seeing confused her and her queen and best friend shared that confusion, despite her amused laugh.

"My my, dear Issei is quite naughty for staying quiet about this."

The heir of the Gremoy clan could only nod, as she paid half of her attention on the barrier as she flew in the air.

The battle already started and the two girls had to work on the barrier, hence the reason of their roles as spectators.

While and after they did that, they managed to witness the fight of Obsidian Noir and his...familiar.

That term felt wrong, but it was the closest word Rias could think of.

A karasutengu.

Maybe it was because she appeared out of nowhere.

Or because she was way too strong to be a normal familiar. The speed and savageness the crow youkai showcased was beyond normal, even in her standards.

She was faster than Yuuto, who had the boosted speed of a knight!

The loud laughter the tengu gave out as she ripped that fallen a new one reminded her a lot of Akeno.

The latter even laughed the same way at that very moment too. Only with more arousal.

Rias skillfully ignored it.

Either way, the heir bit her lips at those unexpected events.

Obsidian Noir was stronger than she thought.

Given that the spider youkai, a tsuchigumo that was lurking around, appeared out of nowhere as well, she assumed that she belonged to the man as well.

Said youkai was in the middle of stabbing knifes into a silk cocoon, the white slowly being replaced by scarlet red, as the insane victim inside bled out. Her shy blush, hidden underneath long black silky hair and the modest kimono did not fit with her actions at all.

Thank her brother that her friend wasn't looking that way.

The fact that perplexed her the most was one simple thing though.

Someone who was supposed to be human, kicked a fallen angel around with what seemed to be raw physical strength at first.

That the explanation later was senjutsu, and in extension touki, didn't make it easier to understand. A skill that by all means should be either limited to youkai or old sages. At least at the level he showcased.

Here she thought that the Boosted Gear user was exaggerating about him being strong. Or his species.

Unlike the little girl that died, she realized way sooner what he was.

His body was artificial. It was above the cut of the rest, but it was definitely a homunculus. Yet the way he behaved, indicated not a trace of a master or programming, like she was used from Lord Beelzebub's homunculi she sometimes met. Another mystery.

What concerned the female king was that this Obsidian killed someone without a hint of remorse.

She knew that some rather ruthless magicians existed out there. That one interacted with one from her peerage...concerned her.

She couldn't dwell on her thoughts, given that he greeted them despite being hidden.

Rias clicked her tongue. She completely forgot about the sensing abilities.

That was embarrassing, she had Koneko in her peerage! She shouldn't have make such a rookie mistake.

She sighed and revealed herself from the trees, at the same time as her queen.

If she was already spotted, she might as well be graceful with it.

"It has been quite pleasant, Mr. Noir. And please, call me Rias. A friend of Issei is a friend of mine." The devil gracefully lifted her skirt a little and bowed in a curtsey. Her friend mimicked her movement.

"Akeno is alright for me too." A smile appeared on her face and Rias could spot a hint of a blush, much to her annoyance. "I am impressed. You have shown quite some...skill, Mr. Noir. It was an inspiration."

"Obsidian, please. Don't make me feel older than I am." If the man spotted it as well, he didn't show it and instead grinned slightly with his hood still on. "And I'm glad you liked it. Thought I should put up a show if an audience was there."

"You are not offended?" The red head questioned with a raised eyebrow and received a hand wave as an answer.

"Not really. I'm an unknown factor here. You don't know me, so you had to evaluate me, in case I am a threat. Props to you."

"Thank you," Rias replied in a neutral tone and peeked over to the church. "I believe we should talk later. I must go to make sure the rest of my peerage is alright."

"Issei sure is lucky to have you as a master," Obsidian chuckled and this confused her only more.

When his eyes met hers, there was only one message in them.

Complete trust.

As a devil, which he should know she was, more than often she was used to distrust. Even among her own race, not many would give away trust to their peers so easily.

Yet that man did. That man in front of her entrusted his friend's life in her hands and trusted her to do her best to keep him safe.

Before she could ask him, he looked at his wrist watch...and turned around towards the front gate.

"Well, gotta go. Tell him I'm fine."

"What important business do you have just to leave like that?" Akeno asked intrigued, holding her hand against her cheek. He turned his head slightly and covered his mouth as he yawned.

"Sleep. Unlike you devils, I'm not nocturnal."

This baffled the two female devils, who blinked owlishly as Obsidian walked off. It took a few moments to process what just happened.

It was the sadist who first found her words.

"Huh, that was new. Someone just casually walking away. I expected more questions and confusion." An exaggerating sigh escaped her as she closed her eyes again. "Are we losing our touch?"

"Save the thought for later," Rias stated as she shook her head.

She would break her head over these events later. She had a peerage to check on.

Quickly, the two girls enter the church, ignoring the destruction around them. Instead, the king focused on the picture in front of her.

Her rook and knight standing guard at the other entrances, old and new, letting Issei have some space. The sight tore into her heart.

The newly reincarnated teenager silently shed tears, as he knelt in front of Asia Argento, the nun he befriended.

Even from the distance, she could tell that she was dead. Despite her knowledge that this wouldn't last long, it wasn't something the club president liked to see.

She nodded to Akeno, who began to draw the circle necessary for the upcoming ritual. Rias herself closed in on the small glowing light floating in the air and carefully grabbed in her right hand.

Twilight Healing.

Absentmindedly she glanced over at the lifeless body of the fallen, Yumi Amano, who was responsible for the whole mess.

A wide gaping hole was in her chest.

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that.

She fully expected to be the one who had to eliminate the threat, especially the fact that Issei was supposed to be too emotionally involved in her, no matter how fake the persona of the fallen was.

Quickly, she summoned up the Power of Destruction inside her to get rid of the corpse. She had a masquerade to uphold.

When the deed was done, it concerned her that her pawn did not react to the energy at all. It was almost like he was shell shocked.

Gently, she put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched a little, but at seeing her he calmed down and attempted to smile.

It was not a good attempt.

"I am surprised that you managed to...beat Yumi so soundly," Rias carefully stated, trying to distract him from the corpse in front of him.

He just dryly chuckled, not moving his eyes away from the scarcely dressed girl.

"Well, people do say that it gets easier after the first time. Still hurts though..."

A small part in her wanted to know what happened in his past.

But there was a time for that and it wasn't now.

"I was too late..." Tears welled up in his eyes and he slightly turned his head, bowing in the movement. "I'm sorry for wasting everyone's time..."

The heir of the Gremory clan smiled. He was strong enough to not lash out, yet also strong enough to reveal his emotions.

Rias could respect that.

Still, she had to correct him. She shook her head and knelt next to him.

"You didn't waste our time. And don't write her off to quickly." At his confused stare, she pulled out one of her Evil Pieces. "I shall revive her with my last bishop piece."

"Y-you would do that?" Issei whispered in disbelief

"Of course. I am not heartless," Rias stated with a chuckle. "Though it is unheard for a sister, I will try to revive her as a devil."

Right at that statement, Koneko came over to carry the body of Asia in bridal style over to the circle. Taking a deep breath, the king stepped in front of the circle and extended her hand, while closing her eyes.

"I command thee, Asia Argento, on my name Rias Gremory, become my servant and once more return thy soul to this land and become a devil! Thou shall lead a new life with great joy as my bishop!"

A great light filled the room, radiating from the nun. Moments later, she softly groaned and rubbed her tired eyes. Then she looked around in the room, confusion filling her face. Issei on the other hand stared at her in disbelief.

Softly, Rias put her hand on his shoulder.

"Go on. You are her senior now."

Encouraging him with a slight grin, he rushed towards new devil and hugged her fiercely, the tears freely running down his face. At first Asia stuttered embarrassed, but then patted his back in a motherly fashion.

Overall, a very heartwarming moment. Judging from the smiles of her peerage, the club president was not alone with that opinion.

It took quite some time, but the wielder of Boosted Gear calmed down at last and wiped the tears off his face in slight embarrassment. When he searched the area however, he tilted his head as he turned to his king.

"Where is Sid?" When the others gave the other a confused look, he scratched his head sheepishly. "Obsidian, I mean."

That name finally got a reaction from the others in form of a collective 'ah'.

"He said he was going to sleep," Akeno replied and giggled in amusement. "Quite ironic, given that he was responsible for two fallen angel's and an exorcist's death. He must have been through a lot if he shrugged that off as a nuisance."

Issei shook his head, a snort escaping him.

"That sounds like him...Bastard always acts so nonchalant all the time."

Despite his word choice, the self proclaimed harem king had fondness in his eyes as he looked at the ground.

Rias cleared her throat and said with a serious tone:

"Issei. Please come with him tomorrow. We have a lot to talk about. Asia will rest in our clubhouse for now. I believe we all need some rest from the recent events."

When she heard their confirmation of her words, she turned around to leave the church.

She could not wait to get some answers.

/

Slowly, Issei got dressed. It was way sooner than usual, but despite his exhaustion from last night, he could not sleep at all. Therefore, he decided to get ready for school if he couldn't rest his eyes.

In a tired tone, he sighed and looked at the anime girl clock.

Two hours until he made sense to go. His mother wouldn't even be done with breakfast at that time. He let himself fall down on his bed and sat there for a while, blankly staring at his wall in order to kill time.

"Sup."

The pervert let out a yelp of surprise and crashed on the ground as he scrambled away from the voice that suddenly sounded right next to his ear. When he saw who it was, he hissed as he clutched his chest, heavily breathing.

Then he snarled at the intruder.

"Stop breaking into my room!"

Sid, dressed in a green hoodie this time, shrugged neutrally with his hands in his pockets.

"It became a habit." While Issei slowly sat down next to him on his bed, the man exhaled lazily as he let himself fall on his back.

"Just thought you would need someone to talk after what happened." He paused for a moment and glanced at the devil's left arm. "Ddraig still sleeping?"

"Yeah..." The wielder responded and a tired grin appeared on his face.

The dragon tried all night to distract him from the morbid thoughts he had, even going as far as trying to engage in a talk about boobs.

Ddraig completely failed at the topic, given that it physically hurt him to talk about it, but Issei appreciated the thought.

Sid nodded in understanding. Try as he might, Ddraig was just that: A dragon. He couldn't understand human thoughts and issues fully, even with all the wielders he lived inside.

It wasn't very often that someone got killed by a supposed loved one, so the old being's experience drew a blank.

Suddenly, a finger snap brought him out of his musings and the devil turned to the source.

A frown was sent at him. "By the way, where is my copy of Majikoi?"

The devil returned the frown as he crossed his arms.

"I'm not done with it yet! You know how I save up the ero scenes!" Drool dripped off his mouth as he swam in the memories, a goofy grin on his face. "Momoyo's boobs are so great..."

"I like Wanko more. Best story line out of all. Momoyo has good action," Sid stated in a bored tone, staring at the ceiling.

With indignation, Issei fully turned to his right and exclaimed:

"Why do you care more about the story than the boobs?!"

"If I wanted to jerk off to something I wouldn't buy it," the senjutsu user drawled, not moving his eyes away from the ceiling. Before the Sacred Gear user could object to that blasphemy, his mother's muffled voice sounded through the door.

"Issei, who are you talking to?"

"It's Sid!" Said son yelled back.

"Okay!" Then he heard a quiet muttering. "Doors are a thing..."

The pawn grinned mischievously at his friend when his mother was gone.

Blushing lightly, the adult quickly changed the topic by clearing his throat and asked in a more social tone:

"How is Asia doing?"

The memory of her cold corpse made Issei flinch. But the memory of her revival cheered him up even more so and he softly smiled.

"Pretty well. I mean, I could have still talked with her with you, but...I'm glad she is alive." Nevertheless, the frown returned and he paused for a moment. "Do people like us...always do this?"

"What, the supernatural?" Receiving the nod from him, the adult sighed. "Can't really talk from experience because I was lying low...But I guess that conflict is a thing." Sid glanced over to Issei, who decided to lie on his back as well next to him. "Wanna talk about it?"

"...I still loved her you know. Yumi, I mean."

After he uttered out these words, a shaky breath escaped him.

It hurt. Remembering her happy facade during their date, the betrayal, her sadistic laughter at Asia's death…

What hurt the most was the moment when he shoved Boosted Gear into her chest and ripped her heart out in anger. Afterward, he felt empty. Despite all the things she had done…

The devil clenched his fist. He couldn't completely hate her. Even if her good side was fake.

Sid sighed and sat upright as he scratched his hair.

"Look, I don't know how that feels, so I won't pretend to. But beating yourself up over this won't help." He gestured with his hand towards Issei. "Yes, you might have noticed sooner that she was a fallen. You might have prevented yourself from loving her." The adult grinned tiredly. "But might doesn't cut it, correct?" Heaving another breath, he stared to the ceiling. "The only thing we can do...is learn from that. But don't project this one failure on all your future actions." His eyes narrowed, he looked back to the devil. "Don't let this bitch win. If she is the reason you can't move on, you have lost." As quickly as he frowned, as quickly did the lazy expression return when he fell back on the bed. "Besides, your club members...they are nice people, as far as I can see. They won't stab you without good reason."

"Without good reason?" Issei questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Sid scoffed in response, a teasing grin on his face.

"We both know you sometimes deserve that."

At the frown of the devil, he barked out a laughter. Issei only shook his head exasperatedly. Still, he smiled at his honesty.

There were times when he overdid it, he had to admit that.

Not that this would stop him from his ambitions anyway.

Nevertheless, there was still something that bugged him.

"Do...do you think I'll ever get a girlfriend?" He asked with hesitation. Ddraig never had to worry about that, so he didn't really had any good tips.

"Sure." The adult stood up without missing a beat and put his hands into his pockets, grin not fading from his face. "You are a good guy. Total pervert, but nobody is perfect. I mean, look at me. I managed to get married, thanks to very weird circumstances and I wasn't even interested in it at the beginning."

"I still hate you for that," Issei stated and pointed at his shoulder with a flat look. "You still have some cat hair on you."

Sid followed the finger and frowned as he clipped it off with a finger snap. The pawn sighed in frustration.

That would explain why the man looked so exhausted.

"Crap, here I thought I got all of that...Anyway, your boss wanted to talk to me. Where?"

"Our clubhouse!" The devil announced enthusiastically, realizing that they killed enough time for school to begin. Seeing Asia again was enough to brighten up his day. He stood up and rushed down the stairs in order to get something to eat, leaving Sid behind in his room.

"Here I thought I was done with high school..." He could hear him mutter. This got him an idea.

An evil grin appeared on the devil's face. A chance had arrived to convert him!

/

"Explanation. Now."

Issei laughed nervously at Sid's flat stare. Right now, they leaned against the old school building, the club house of the peerage of Rias. And they are very out of breath.

"Hey, this was the first time you came to Kuoh Academy! The least I could do was give you a tour!" The Sacred Gear user exclaimed in a heated tone as his head hung low from the lack of oxygen. The Vietnamese crossed his arms, dryly snorting in anger.

"What, the 'How to be hated in less than three seconds'- tour? Yeah, totally enjoyed that one."

"See? I knew I could convert you!" The student exclaimed with pride. His smile fell when the flat stare didn't change at all.

"Sarcasm, it's called sarcasm." He rubbed his forehead as he groaned. Then he sent Issei an angry glare. "Seriously? There are two more of you? And you just had to drag me over to a peeping hole?!" By now, his voice took an increase in volume and he wildly gestured towards the school building they escaped from. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"I still have hope that you worship the beauty of boobs one day just like me!" Issei justified his actions, giving him a thumbs up with a wide grin.

"Well, unlike you, I am not a virgin nor single enough to have a need to worship them!"

Right after Sid exploded, his eyes widened and covered his mouth. He then winced at what he saw.

Dead silence filled the area and all amusement faded away from his face.

Despite his serious expression, tears formed in his eyes.

"...That was low, dude," Issei said with a shaky voice.

Instantly, Sid went on his knees and lowered his head.

"Sorry. Just a little pissed from that witch hunt," he said with remorse, not raising his head at all.

"It's okay." Issei wiped off his tears and smiled softly as he put his hand on the adult's shoulder. "I still love you, you know?"

Sid mimicked the gesture and smiled back as well.

"Love you too, buddy," he said back in a quiet tone.

They stared deeply into their eyes, forgiving the other for the pain they have caused.

This moment was ruined by a deep grumbling voice, filled with confusion.

"This is both pure comedy and torture." Ddraig sighed and they could imagine how he shook his head. "Is this what people call an S&M person?"

Before one of the guys can reply to that, they hear a female voice clearing its throat. The two men turn their head at the same time to the window.

"Am I interrupting something?" Rias asked with a small smirk, crossing her arms in expectation as she leaned on the window board.

The two men look at each other. Then they shrug.

"No, not really," Issei said, not getting her amusement.

"Since when are you here? It's rude to leave guests waiting," Sid asked with a raised eyebrow, a bit displeased. Rias chuckled in response.

"Apologies. Please, come in."

When the door opened and let them in, Issei looked into the room.

Akeno was farther in the back, preparing tea. She gave the two friends a friendly smile, before focusing back on her task.

So cute.

Yuuto leaned against a wall and politely nodded at them with crossed arms.

Damn handsome.

Before he could look around more, someone ran into him and crushed him into a hug. He blushed when two very soft...body parts squeeze against his body. But Issei held back his urges and instead gently patted Asia's head, who cried into his shoulder.

The events from yesterday still have taken a toll on her. Death could do that. He felt the same.

After a while, she calmed down and hid her face underneath her hands in embarrassment. The pawn looked away with a blush and finished his mental roll call of the club.

Koneko nibbled on a sweet with a blank expression, sitting opposite of the nun. When she turned to the newcomers and spotted the pawn, her face distorts in disgust.

The wielder of Boosted Gear could feel the arrows piercing his heart.

But then her eyes widened slightly and she quickly averted her eyes.

This confused the pervert.

Issei could swear she looked a bit nervous when she spotted Sid.

If the man noticed, he didn't show it as he approached her.

When he stopped right in front of her, she eyed him with wariness, leaning a little away from him.

At first, they stared at each other in silence. The small girl started to fidget when the adult wouldn't do anything but looking at her with a bored expression. Then he reached into his pockets, which caused the girl to tense up.

If his eyes weren't fooling him, the pawn could have sworn that the rook barred her teeth a little.

Like a cat.

Sid didn't react at all at the hostility and instead pulled something out and presented it to the small girl.

Everyone sweatdropped when they see what he had in his hand.

"Have a cookie," the Vietnamese stated with the same neutral face.

Koneko stared at the cookie. Then she looked back up. Then back to the cookie. She repeated that several times, like a confused animal.

In the end, she slowly reached for it. But she shortly stopped before touching it and looked up with narrowed eyes.

"...Why?"

"You look like you like sweets, so here you go," Sid explained with a shrug.

"Anything weird?" The rook asked, staring back at the sweet. Her hand started to twitch a little.

"Normal chocolate cookie," he replied.

Instantly, she took the cookie and stuffed it into her mouth. Munching on it, she bowed her head slightly, but there was still some confusion in her eyes.

"Thanks."

Sid smiled back and sat down on a chair, opposite to where Rias sat at the moment.

Okay, even Issei had to admit that was weird as hell.

"No, really? I thought that was totally normal," Ddraig drawled and his wielder sent him a frown at the comment.

"Why are you carrying around cookies?" Kiba asked as he slightly tilted his head.

"My wife loves them. She tends to listen to me when I give her one of them," the adult replied, folding his hands as he leaned forward with similar amusement.

At the word wife, the pawn sent him a dirty look as he sat down next to him. His friend ignored him, just like always.

Issei may have gotten over that fact...But the tears still formed in his eyes, damning the fact that he was still single as he clenched his fist in front of his face.

"Oh my. To be married at such a young age? I'm impressed," the pawn heard the queen giggle, making him refocus on the conversation.

"If it would be me, I would have liked to postpone it. But she was...very insistent," Sid explained with a wry grin, looking over to the pawn, who chuckled dryly as well.

Oh, he could clearly remember how insistent she was. Sometimes, she pretended that Issei wasn't even in the room with her as she used her...methods.

Envy dwelt up in his heart at the memories. How many times was Sid's face pressed against those beautiful boobs?!

He took a calming breath as he closed his eyes. No, Sid was still his bro. He could forgive him. The man could have one woman. In the end, the pawn would get all the others, in order to be the Harem King!

"I should start a drink game of how many times you say harem or boobs. But then I would die from alcohol poisoning," Ddraig grunted in his head.

"Wait, aren't you a dragon?" Issei questioned mentally in confusion. Could they get drunk?

"Exactly."

Anyway, repeating the previous thoughts in his head, the pain began to fade away slowly.

"Now that you are here...It's time to talk," Rias stated and crossed her legs.

As if by a hidden command, the club members present moved behind her, all keeping up a neutral expression as they all faced Sid. Akeno to her right, Yuuto to her left, followed by Koneko.

With her entire peerage behind her, it made her appear more...powerful, so to say.

Her entire peerage, except of Issei, who was still sitting next to Sid. Blinking owlishly, he turned his head towards his friend, then back to his peerage.

That was a very sudden shift of the atmosphere and the boy did not know how to respond to that, except switching his gaze between his club and Sid.

The latter motioned with his head towards his president with a frown when Issei glanced back to him. The message was clear.

Keep up the appearance, stupid.

Quickly, the pawn stood up and moved behind Rias, blushing slightly. His face flushed even more when Akeno gave him an amused smile. At least everyone else ignored the recent blunder and focused on being professional.

"You already know of us, so I will skip the pleasantries. Let me be blunt. Who are you?" The heir questioned with a business face on. Sid didn't seem to be fazed at all, as he glanced upwards in thought.

"Husband. Social worker. Friend." Taking a deep breath, he repositioned himself on his seat, lazy face non changing. "Sorcerer. I am in the know. Magic and all that jazz." He pointed between himself and the pawn. "We are old friends."

"How exactly did you meet?" Yuuto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Met in Kyoto. Crazy shit went down, we covered the ass of the other. That's all I will say," the reply came with crossed arms. When Rias glanced over to Issei, he smiled wryly and nodded slowly.

"What happened in Kyoto stays in Kyoto..." He muttered, avoiding eye contact as he shuddered.

His master sighed and rubbed her forehead. Issei assumed she wasn't very happy with the lack of information. Nevertheless, she was a devil for a reason and quickly switched questions as she folded her hands.

"I assume you learned senjutsu from there?"

From his eye corners, the pawn noticed how Koneko tensed up again. Remembering his conversation with Sid back in the park, he gritted his teeth.

Of course, the trauma. How could he forget that? Now he somewhat regretted not trying harder to get closer to her. Sadly, his own perversity got in the way over and over again.

On second thought, how did his president know about the adults senjutsu abilities? Thinking about it, Issei assumed that Rias observed his friend during the church raid.

Slightly, he shook his head. No use in crying over spilled milk.

"Yup. Kyoto is filled with experts. No danger of going batshit insane or something," Sid replied with a casual hand wave, just as the pawn refocused back on the conversation. He noticed that the rook eyed his friend with...intrigue.

Either that or he imagined that slight widening of her eyes on that usual neutral face.

"Can you use senjutsu as well, Issei?" Rias asked intrigued, while taking a worried glance over the smallest girl in the room. The latter closed her eyes and did some kind of breathing exercise to calm herself down.

"I could...But I'm a little out of...practice," the future Harem King finished lamely and scratched his somewhat red cheek as he received the Sorcerer's dry glare.

"We are going to fix that someday."

His voice did not leave any room for objections. The pervert hung his head low a bit.

That was going to suck.

After a slight mouth twitch of amusement on Rias' side, shared by everyone in the room at the pawn's antics, she took a small breath. Then, a business like smile appeared on her face.

"You had very particular familiars. It isn't common to see someone taking control of youkai."

"Well, I have a good hand for it," the Sorcerer stated with a wry grin. He sighed after a slight pause. "Don't like talking about it. People would hunt me if they knew more."

"A Sacred Gear then?" Akeno asked as she put her finger on her cheek.

"Something like that," the adult said, averting his eyes in discomfort as he exhaled a little air. The pawn grimaced a bit. Even he could see that his friend was hiding something and he was not the most perceptive person. At least the others didn't know the details, unlike himself.

Realizing that those kind of questions didn't work out as intended, Issei assumed, Rias followed another line of thought and leaned forward with a slight frown.

"Why come I never heard from you?"

"I like to lay low, exactly because of my ability," Sid replied nonchalantly, having relaxed again as he scratched his tummy, with his hands underneath his hoodie pockets.

"And the fact that you have forged papers?"

She grinned playfully when sweat ran down on the adult's body. He scratched the back of his head and hummed in discomfort.

"...It's a long story," he said after a long pause and nodded.

"We have time," the female king stated smugly and took a sip from her tea.

"Well, I don't...really have time." At the stares he was getting, he raised his hands in a placating manner. "Believe me, it isn't very relevant and won't hurt you or anyone else here. Long story short, I'm an illegal immigrant trying to hide."

Awkward silence filled the room and everyone sweatdropped. Issei palmed his face.

Why would he say something like that?!

"Well, it's the truth," Ddraig commented amused.

It didn't mean he should confess just like that!

After a while, Rias cleared her throat, pretending that it wasn't such a big deal and took a deep breath.

"Given that you haven't started anything here as far as I know, I can forgive you for your...illegal stay here. Issei also trusts you, so I am willing to trust you too. But you have to be registered in our lists." Right as she ended that sentence, Akeno walked forward and presented some papers to Sid. The pawn did a double take at that.

When did she get those?

Sid shrugged at that and pulled out a pen from his pockets.

"If it keeps the devil cops with their devil cars out of my house, sure," he stated with a grin. It slowly faded when no one reacted at this comment. With a huff, he signed the papers with his name. Finishing that, he stood up and bowed slightly to the Occult Research Club.

"Sorry for keeping this short, but job is calling. Unless there is anything important that has to be asked now?" He asked and looked to the round. Rias shook her head and stood up as well.

"Nothing too important, no. It has been a pleasure having you here." After saying this, she bowed as well, like the rest of her peerage.

Issei on the other hand did not bow. Instead, he walked up to Sid and slapped him on his back enthusiastically.

"Let me walk you out!"

"I'm the adult here, I can take care of myself," Sid said with a slight frown.

"Don't be like that!" The pawn said with a light laugh and shoved him towards the door.

"Geez, fine, mommy," the adult grumbled, but smirked nevertheless as he patted the teenager's hair.

"Hey! Issei exclaimed, slapping the hair from his head and pouted.

With that little exchange, the two leave the building, needling at each other a couple more times.

/

"It seems my initial impression of him was wrong. He was more laid back than I expected." After shaking her head in amusement, Rias turned when the door closed. "Any opinions?"

By now, the rest of her peerage moved away from her back and sat down on their usual spots. It was Yuuto who spoke up first, after taking a sip from his own tea.

"He and Issei must have shared quite the adventures if last night is anything to go by. Even though Issei wasn't as skilled as me and Koneko, he did have some insight when it came to fighting. The two of them weren't fazed at all about all the commotion as well."

The Gremory heir hummed in thought. Her knight was very good at evaluating fighters, so her adorable pawn was stronger than she expected. It would explain why her pawn pieces were barely enough for him.

With this in mind, she turned to the other companion that was with him that night.

"He gave me sweets. He's okay," said the nekoshou stated neutrally, but her face quickly changed to confusion. "B-but...he can use senjutsu. It's weird."

Rias looked at her with sadness, an action shared by the other senior members of her peerage. Asia on the other hand only turns her head around a couple times in confusion.

The female king sighed. Her trauma caused by her older sister was still running deep and it affected her picture of Obsidian, and now Issei as well.

The red haired girl bit her thumb.

On the other hand, they might help her get over it. They are senjutsu users, yes...But they obviously hadn't lost their minds yet. They were in control. At least the Sorcerer was. If they would show her that senjustsu was controllable…

Koneko would be happy again. And Rias wanted nothing but happiness for her peerage.

Nevertheless, it would be a long process. She could scheme later.

Anyway, as if the small girl remembered something, she made an 'oh' sound and put down one of her sweets, raising her finger with her free hand.

"And he smells funny too," she said with a frown.

"Funny?" Akeno questioned intrigued, tilting her head.

"He smells...familiar," the rook slowly explained with narrowed eyes, staring into her tea.

This got some wide eyed stares from everyone. Even from Asia. Rias knew, that as a youkai, her sense were very keen. So that she said that he smells familiar...had some very weird implications.

"Maybe his senjutsu?" Yuuto suggested, but the girl shook her head with a frown.

"No, it's...different. Like a smell I knew since my birth. But I never met him before." In the end, she shrugged and nibbled on her food again. "Not sure."

The heir sighed. Great, another mystery. She turned her head towards her queen in a tired manner.

"Akeno?"

"I like how he fights," she giggled with a slight blush after a short pause.

"Of course you do..." Rias groaned out. Sometimes she hated her friend's sadistic tendencies. Luckily, the shrine maiden's features became more serious when she began to tap her chin in thought.

"But it occurs to me that he has no qualms with us. It's almost like he knows enough to know we are not a threat." She slightly frowned. "It worries me he was so vague though. Especially about his past and abilities."

"Let's hope that our pawn isn't wrong about him," Rias said with a slight smile. This was the only reason she wasn't more aggressive towards Obsidian. Issei considered him a friend. Unlike Raynare, he knew the man for at least two years. She would trust his judgment.

That the Sorcerer was male, calmed her mind even more. One could not say that the wielder of Boosted Gear was rational when it came to girls.

This did not mean however that she wouldn't do her own research on him when she has the time. It would be low priority though.

At last, she turned to the newest member of her peerage.

"And you, Asia?" She asked warmly.

"Uhm..." She hesitated. Very long. "He is a very nice person, just like Issei!" Her sudden outburst made Rias giggle lightly, causing her to blush. Still, she softly smiled after taking a deep breath. "He even comforted me while I...waited."

"Waited?" The president asked with a tilted head.

"When I...died..." A shaky breath escaped her and she closed her eyes. "I was in this void. Darkness was everywhere. It was...scary." She shook her head and her smile came back. "But then I heard him. He just talked with me about what I did on my...meeting with Issei, but he...distracted me. And he told me I would get back soon enough. He cares a lot."

"Wait..." Kiba said with wide eyes, looking into the room to see the others equally shocked.

Except of Asia, who blinked confused.

"He can talk to the dead?" The only male in the room questioned. The nun nodded with hestitation.

This...was a big thing, Rias realized as she bit her lip.

No wonder he wanted to lie low.

Nevermind, he was high priority now.

/

"And? What do you think?" Issei asked with a wide grin, standing in front of the school gates with his friend. The boy knew he shouldn't feel so proud of letting Sid meet his club members…

But hell, it did feel good!

"Considering how your life went so far, I understand," the dragon inside him chuckled.

Not even Ddraig was going to take this moment from him!

The Sorcerer chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Nice kids. Have their weird quirks from what I can tell, but they look to be good friends. I'm happy for you," he said with a slight grin. Issei blushed a little. Not many would congratulate him on something like this.

Sid knew how alone he sometimes felt, even with his parents and his school buddies.

"And me."

And the moment was gone.

"Huh?" The devil asked dumbly, seeing that Sid's grin got a slight nervous edge.

"Her big brother is a big name out there. I mean, leader big." He shuddered. "Really scary, so it's good if Rias likes you and maybe in extension me."

"What is his name?" The Sacred Gear user asked with a tilted head. He didn't even know she had a brother.

"He used to be called Sirzech Gremory," Sid explained, leaning against the school wall.

"Used?" Issei asked confused, mirroring his friend's body posture.  
"Yes. When he took on the mantle of one of the leaders, he got a new surname." A flat look is sent at the future harem king. "Lucifer."

At first the devil hummed impressed and nodded a few times.

Then his mouth opened slightly and he slowly raised his hand in shock.

"Wait...Like-"

"Like the first Fallen, first big bad in the Bible, SMT chaos boss, yes," the Sorcerer interrupted him dryly and shuddered yet again. Issei couldn't blame him.

The thought sent a shiver down his spine as well. But there was one important thing he had to know. He grabbed both of the adult's shoulders, forcing him to turn his face towards him. The man blinked confused, but the pawn did not care at the moment.

"You think I can survive him if I poke his sister's boobs?" The devil asked in a serious tone, determination in his eyes.

Dead silence. Only the birds in the background could be heard, in the people devoid area.

After what felt like an eternity, it was the dragon inside of him who spoke first.

And his voice was drier than a desert.

"Sid."

"On it," the Vietnamese replied with an equal dry tone…

And grabbed Issei around the waist, before supplexing him on the ground.

Suffice to say, the student was out for a couple of minutes. When he groggily blinked, the damn foreigner leaned against the wall as if nothing happened. Shaking off the pain from his head, he stood up and pointed at him, anger written all over his face.

The cold stare directed at him stopped him...well, cold.  
"Don't ask stupid questions," Sid stated. His voice left no room for objections.

Okay, Issei had to admit that was a bit over the top. Even considering his perversity into the equation.

"Geez, fine..." Rubbing his head, he supported his back on the wall and glanced at the Sorcerer. "So...what job do you have?"

"I have to leave for about ten days. Important business. Gotta meet my colleagues for a report or something," the adult explained with a long suffering groan.

"Who were your colleagues again?" The Sacred Gear user questioned, scratching his cheek as he racked his brains.

"An old vampire who pranks people for fun and a girl that often destroys shit around her," Sid provided with a slight shudder. The devil made a small 'oh' and hit his fist into his palm. Right, he did mention them sometimes. Though he was never very specific.  
One of those few secrets the adult wouldn't share with him. Not that he could blame him. What the pawn did know was enough to start a witch hunt on him.

"Anyway, just wanted to tell you." A frown is sent at the devil as Sid pointed his finger at him. "Don't fuck shit up here while I'm gone. Taichi is going to keep a good eye on you."

"What could happen?" Issei asked with a shrug.

He didn't understand the pitying stare from Sid at all.


	5. Like Rocky

Now Issei understood the pitying stare of that bastard.

Murphy. How could he forget him?

It didn't occur to him immediately. The days that followed after Sid left for his trip were rather calm.

He had a dream of marrying prez, though Ddraig had to cockblock him again. Like every time he had a sexy dream, the damn lizard replaced it with one of his many fights against other dragons. Mostly against Albion. At first it was awesome to see, but…

After hundreds of times, it did become redundant.

Anyway, after that a lot of training came. Push ups, running, everything that would keep his body up to devil standards. The only thing that made his agony worth it was that his master's ass was firmly on his back in most of the training sessions.

So soft...But not as good as boobs!

Following that, he had quite an embarrassing time of Asia moving in his house on Rias' request. Embarrassing, because his parents made such a big deal out of it.

Saying stuff like how he finally got something female into the house hurt his pride for example!

Still, he was happy to have the cute girl in his house and especially the time they spent together.

It was almost like they were boyfriend and girlfriend!

Naturally, his perverted friends were jealous of him...So he gave them the number of Mil-tan.

Hey, he was a devil.

By the end of the day, the bishop went on a job with Koneko, leaving him alone on the way home and in his room.

That's were the highlight of the week happened for him. Rias entered his room per teleportation.

And she wanted to lose her virginity with him!

A small part of him noticed that she was acting weird in the last few days, even more at that exact moment. Something inside him told him that his king was not herself at that time...

But one shouldn't look into a gift horse's mouth, right?

That's where stuff was going downhill.

Just when things began to get hot, some sexy maid spawned into his room and cockblocked him. If Issei didn't know better, he would think that Sid would teleport into his room as well.

Anway, that person turned out to be the queen of Sirzechs Lucifer, the brother of Rias.

He was so going to die later. And that after Sid hoped that he would like the pawn!

So yeah, his master left all of a sudden, leaving him alone with only his fantasies.

Asia's pure, innocent eyes did not help at all as they walked through the school at that time.

But that wasn't the worst. Not even right after he heard that his two equally perverted friends spread some terrible rumors about him.

The worst came in form of the fried chicken that arrived their club house, also with teleportation. Not literally a fried chicken, but that asshole might as well have been one.

Riser Phenex. The fiancee of Rias Gremoy and a damn asshole with his own harem.

Suffice to say, the meeting was not pleasant. At all.

The man wasn't only disrespectful and forceful towards his club president, but the damn asshole had to make out with two cute twins in front of him! If he hadn't his experience from Kyoto, both the poker face and how to deal with jealousy, Issei would have made his disapproval very clear.

Probably in form of tears and aggressiveness. Luckily he could hold that inside of himself and keep calm.

That's probably the only reason that Riser didn't attack him or something. Mostly, he was ignored when the wielder of Boosted Gear didn't visibly react to the insults. Because of that, the two kings in the room quickly decided to fight a Rating Game in ten days, just to get a chance to gain Rias' freedom from the engagement.

Which basically meant that they had to participate in a team battle by beating the crap out of each other.

Here he thought it would only happen in anime.

Right after that, the asshole left with his...harem, leaving the peerage with that maid of her brother.

Overall, Murphy had hit the pervert like a gigantic monster falling on him from above.

Despite his rather calm demeanor, Issei currently was boiling inside ever since that event. And he couldn't wait to vent off in form of training.

Now, in the present, the boy waited with Asia next to him with a lot of baggage in front of the Hyoudou household, awaiting for the rest of the peerage to get them. Since they planned to walk all the way to that house Rias owned, the male student already started to stretch his legs. Though it was a bit difficult that the bishop next to him mimicked his movements and showed off her body in questionable ways.

"Ah, Issei. Asia. Good, you're ready."

The voice of his master sounded in his ears before his eyes could wander towards the cute girl next to him, for which he was somewhat thankful. Standing upright, he looked up to see the rest of the Gremory peerage, dressed in their school uniform and carrying various amounts of package. The contrast between the small handbag the female king held in her hand and the gigantic, fridge sized baggage Koneko carried on her bag was ridiculous. His own luggage was barely half the size of hers.

Anyway, the smile of Rias got replaced by confusion and she slowly lowered her hand that she waved with. Instead, she pointed at something behind the pervert.

"Issei...who is that?"

As the rest of the group approached the two new devils, the pervert followed the finger with his gaze. Seeing what she meant, he made an 'ah' sound.

His senjutsu teacher. He completely forgot about him.

To be specific, it was a monkey youkai. Excluding the darker skin tone, he would look relatively normal. If it weren't for the black fur surrounding parts of his body, the double-edged tsurugi sword or the kimono that the samurai wore in old times that is. At the moment, the person sat on one of the many bags lying in front of the door, supporting his head on his hand with barely open eyes. Despite the impression he gave, he conversed rather happily with a lazy grin with the nun, who laughed at whatever he just said.

Feeling the attention on him, he looked up and waved lazily towards the rest of the group.

"Taichi is the name. Boss sent me. Taking care of Issei's training. Done that the last few days. Pleasure."

The pawn frowned at his words.

Despite knowing that the monkey meant something else, the training with him was not pleasant at all for Issei. Every time he came back from his daily training and summonings for Rias, the youkai was waiting right inside his room, ready to make his life a living hell, no pun intended.

It basically involved blindfolds and more bruises than from his previous training, since he was supposed to dodge those attacks by sensing them with senjutsu. If he didn't succeed, pain followed and a long mediation session. Right after that, they would work on his control with Boosted Gear. And Issei's suspicion was correct.

He got worse with Ddraig.

Becoming a devil...kind of screwed up his control he had in the past. It wasn't as bad as saying that he completely had to start from scratch. Nevertheless, Issei compared his transformation more to getting a new bed. The wielder of Boosted Gear was still in the phase of getting used to his new bed, so to say.

At least Ddraig assured him that the control and with the skills connected to it would come back if he trained.

The only positive things he got out of this were his newly regained sensing abilities and a new friend for Asia. The latter made him a bit more grateful for Taichi. The two of them really hit off. His lazy and soft personality fit nicely with the nun's gentle and shy demeanor.

Though it did make him a little jealous. Not that he would ever admit it.

"Boss...I assume that is Mr. Noir?" The Gremory heir asked with crossed arms and a slight frown. When the monkey nodded lazily, she let out a deep sigh. After muttering something the pawn couldn't quite hear, she smiled at the youkai. "Very well. I can use all the help I can get for my peerage." After the senjutsu master smiled back, she turned to the future harem king. "Are you ready?"

The pawn grunted with determination and grabbed his own luggage on his back, while Asia had her own small handbag. Both of them are about to move, when they hear a throat clear itself behind them.

"Before I forget," Taichi said and Issei tilted his head. But just before he could turn around, he heaved when his bag suddenly got heavier. With disbelief he looked at his teacher.

Said teacher dumped another bag in equal size on his own bag. Now he had the same weight on his back as the nekoshou. He couldn't see it, but he could damn well feel it.

"What do I need that for?!" The pervert said with gritted teeth as he tried to keep his body upright. The varied degrees of amusement on the other faces did not remove any redness from his own face.

What made it worse was that Taichi moved in front of him with the same blank look on his face as before, crossing his arms behind his head.

That his mouth lightly twitched pissed Issei off even more.

"Training," the monkey youkai replied with a shrug.

Before the glorified pack mule could yell at him, Issei took a deep breath to calm down. This was just to rile him up and the teenager knew when to keep his temper down. Sometimes. After calming down, he asked with the same strain as before:

"Let me rephrase that, what's inside?"

"Rocks. You need to get more muscles on those bones," Taichi explained, poking the pawn's stomach a little.

"I'm not that weak!" The pawn exclaimed with a flushed face, but in response he only received a flat look from the monkey.

"Let's be honest, you didn't change much since Kyoto. Sure, you were more fit than any other human in your age by the end of it. But you didn't do much ever since," his senjutsu teacher said with unusual seriousness and the wielder of Boosted Gear flinched slightly.

Ever since that time, he did keep up his physical work out. With ease he could run away when he got caught peeping on the girls, the chores in the house were done with barely a sweat now. One could say he was even ripped.

But he avoided all conflict that could be dangerous to his life. Including fighting.

Or the devils in his school.

Actually, Issei noticed that there was something off about Rias and the others. That there was more in the city than the normal eye sees. Nevertheless, he never acted on it. He looked away.

To be honest, he didn't want anything to do with the supernatural. What he experienced was enough for him. He knew it was naive, but he hoped that if he ignored the other side...It would leave him alone.

Naturally, it had to came back and bite him in the ass. Not a mistake he will repeat.

Letting out a sigh, he felt his anger leave his body.

Of course, somebody else had to chime in. Inside his head.

"He's right, partner. As you are now, Vali and the white one are going to beat your ass faster than before. And that means something," Ddraig commented a bit grumpy.

Vali. He wryly snorted. That was an unpleasant meeting.

Luckily Sid managed to keep him off Issei's back for now.

Either way, the pawn was about to start following his peerage, when he noticed that Taichi didn't move away.

"Right, another thing." Holding up his two hands, the monkey presented two items to Issei, who gaped at them. "Earplugs and blindfold. You are going to walk all the way with only using your senjutsu senses."

"That's-"

"Do you want to get penetrated from behind again?" The monkey immediately interrupted him.

Pleadingly, he looked over to Asia and the others.

Only to see them off in the distance, leaving him behind already.

Tears ran down his eyes as his teacher put on the handicaps.

This was going to suck.

/

Good news, he only barely got run over by cars. And he was pretty sure he could sense any danger coming at him. The bruises on Issei's body spoke volume of that.

Bad news, he arrived around an hour later than the rest of the peerage at the mountain hut, which was surrounded by a forest and very far off from civilization.

His master did not show him any mercy because of that and made him go through as much training as the others in the club.

Pushups with a boulder on the back, squats in a river, long runs with weights strapped to the legs, Issei and the others did everything to push up their own physical condition every day.

And that's only as a warm up.

Compared to the training he did before his reincarnation, this was pure hell. At least he got complimented for his above average toned body by the girls. Well, except for Koneko.

Internally, the future harem king chuckled at the time. He knew there was a reason he kept up torturing himself.

In the end, only a good body deserved a harem. He accepted this ever since his youth.

Anyway, after that, sparring followed. In this case, with weapons.

And Yuuto was his opponent.

Quickly, the pawn ducked another strike aimed at his temple, while trying to follow the fast movements of the knight. Not with his eyes, given that the other male vanished from his sight the instance the pervert dodged the attack.

Still, Issei gritted his teeth when he put his sword above his head and tensed his right arm, just in time to block swing from above. But he only put up the pressure for a short moment and dropped his weapon as he turned around, letting the attack barely miss his back as he tried to backfist Yuuto.

The latter's eyes widened for a moment, before the jumped back with his superior speed. The wielder of Boosted gear clicked his tongue when his wide swing missed and quickly picked up his wooden weapon again.

To his surprise however, the knight did not continue his relentless attacks, instead deciding to observe him quietly.

With this break, the "younger" devil of the two took a small breath to relax. Yet, his shinai was still loosely held in his right hand, ready to spring into action.

Giving himself a quick check, he grinned slightly.

Not too out of breath and barely a sweat. His stamina was still good.

"You are improving faster than expected, Issei," the wielder of Sword Birth says with a light smile and relaxing his own stance.

Issei took this as his cue to relax as well. Awkwardly, he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed chuckle.

"More like I'm getting my touch back." Then he mutters to the ground. "Maybe I should have taken up the offers for some fight trips from the others..."

Suffice to say, he got a lot of requests, even from Sid himself. The man who claimed to hate conflict the most. But every time, something came in between.

His wish to leave the chaos of the supernatural behind. Naturally, Ddraig was not a happy dragon every time that happened.

The pawn flexed his arm a little and sighed again.

If he would have came along those battle trips, maybe Issei wouldn't need to push himself so much to this point.

The point where he could survive youkai attacks around the clock.

His awareness he developed from the chaotic times in Kyoto was coming back. Ready to act at any time, spotting dangers before they were even there. If that experience had one positive factor, it were all kinds of survival and combat skills.

Hell, he got some sneak attacks off on Yuuto, by using quick movements and hiding skills.

"Sounds like you have interesting company," the knight states amused. Following that, his smile gained a more stern edge, as he held his shinai with two hands in a traditional kendo stance. "Still, you can still get better. Again!"

Not waiting for a reply, he dashed forwards, only to quickly circle around Issei when the latter was about to stab against his head.

Turning around quickly, intending to block, the pervert managed to get one, teeth clenched sentence out.

"I don't even use a damn sword..."

At least he wasn't as good as the damn monkey.

Where was he anyway?

/

Somewhere on a tree, something snored.

/

Another important lessons in the training regime was one of the most basic things of the supernatural.

Magic. Sorcery. Magecraft. Whatever you wanted to call it.

Obviously Issei knew what that was, way before becoming a devil. It was mandatory to know when growing up in the age of manga. Meeting Sid only gave him more knowledge about the how to human magic.

Frankly, when the boy heard how devil magic worked...

It was completely unfair.

From what the pervert understood, humans basically used a lot of math and science to use the effects they wish for.

Devils? Devils only needed to want it very hard.

Okay, maybe the pawn exaggerated a little, but it still sounded way easier than human systems.

Hell, it sounded more ridiculous than the main Magic Sid used. He at least had some kind of science behind it.

If he told Issei the truth.

Either way, devil magic was rather easy to understand.

Despite all that…

He had some difficulties making it work. Especially compared to Asia, who had quite the sizable energy ball in her hands.

It wasn't Akeno's fault for his problems. She was quite a patient teacher and her explanations were easy to understand. And for once, her sexy body in her shrine maiden outfit was not distracting him.

Not by much anyway.

Yet, the magic wouldn't come out. Despite him knowing what he was supposed to do.

Actually, Issei was pretty smart for his age. There was a reason he managed to get into Kuoh Academy.

If one ignored academics, the pawn was street smart as well, even before Kyoto happened.

Still, there was something in him that just didn't take a liking to it. It's like his entire being was not fit for a mage...sorcerer...whatever!

Ddraig said as much himself. Issei was more of a brawler.

Long story short, he sucked at magic.

The pawn gritted his teeth in frustration and poured all of his willpower to make the damn energy ball in his palm. Feeling the energy pouring, he opened his eyes with excitement.

His wide grin immediately thinned when he saw his...work.

It barely fit between the space of his thumb and his index finger. If Issei was generous.

"Good job, Issei!" Asia exclaimed happily, completely supportive despite his small ball.

This embarrassed him only more, as he scratched his cheek with an awkward chuckle.

"Well, that's nothing compared to yours." The pawn let out a sigh, before he looked up at Akeno's smiling face. "Magic isn't my thing, is it?"

As the nun fidgeted around with her fingers a bit nervously at his statement, the queen sighed softly. Still, a patient smile was on her face as she put a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Remember, devil magic is mostly based on determination and imagination. Quite different from human systems." She then stifled a giggle as she covered her mouth slightly. "Well, I guess you are more suited for punching things."

That...did not cheer him up as much as he wanted to. Honestly, it sounded like an insult to him. Because of that, he hung his head low and let out a gloomy sigh as he sat on the mat.

"D-don't worry! I believe that Issei is the best at punching things! Don't feel bad!" The bishops kind words made the pervert look up, to see the nun standing next to him, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder while her other left hand was formed into a fist of determination. Her radiant smile was full with the intention to cheer Issei up.

This made him even feel more bad.

As he stared at Asia with a somewhat depressed expression however, something clicked in his mind. An idea formed.

"Wait, imagination..." He quietly muttered, intensely looking at the newest devil.

Or rather what she was wearing, which made her tilt her head in confusion.

Could he-

"Partner, remember our agreement? No experimenting until you got Balance Breaker."

Damn him! He lost the idea!

Angrily, he glared at his left arm right after the dragon interrupted him rudely from his genius plans, startling the nun, while the shrine maiden simply looked at him with mild interest.

"Geez, I can think ahead, can't I?" Issei muttered in frustration. He ground his teeth when he only heard a rumbling laughter inside his head.

Jackass.

"Now, let us try again, okay?" Akeno stated with a clap.

Issei groaned, but was determined to create something bigger this time. Especially with his first real female friend cheering him on!

Size did matter in the end!

/

A flurry of punches were thrown between the pawn and the rook of Rias' peerage. At the same times, both combatants parried the other's attack when they were on the defense. This went back and forth for a while.

Issei had the advantage in speed, getting some blows in her face and her (sadly) flat chest.

Not that it really mattered.

Hitting Koneko was like hitting a brick wall. If he were still human, he was sure he would have fractured his bones after the first attack.

Shooting a right straight at her head, she quickly ducked and grabbed it with bother her arms. As she shifted her feet to judo throw him to the ground, Issei brought his left side closer to her body, instead of backing off.

Quickly breathing out, the pawn shot his left palm towards her left temple while his arm was slightly bent due to the mid motion of Koneko's throw.

As if feeling the attack, she immediately let go and rolled out of the way from her opponents punch. With the lack of resistance, Issei stumbled a little, but he then jumped forwards to avoid a drop kick against his back. Swiftly, he stood up again and dusted his hands off a little, facing the rook again.

Slowly, the youkai circled around him and Issei turned according to her movements. Still, a small smirk graced his face.

Unlike against Yuuto, this was more of his element. Hand to hand combat.

Or rather street fighting.

Still, this spar only drilled this fact.

Koneko Toujou was strong.

And evil pieces were unfair, but that wasn't important.

His arms ached when he had to directly block one of her punches, instead of parrying them like he always did. That was at least seven exchanges ago.

Issei could still feel them vibrate after that attack hit his cross guard.

Shaking them a little, he tried to feel his arms again, before putting up his stance, with his right arm, and therefore right side, in front while the left arm was closer to his body.

Actually, it was rather similar to the rook's stance. Though she utilized way more grappling moves than Issei.

All of a sudden, the rook relaxed her stand and raised her thumb, signaling the pawn a break. As the latter relaxed as well, she nodded in approval.

"Very good street fighting." She frowned slightly. "But aim more for the center of the body. Easier to hit."

"Well, if my hits don't knock you out, they only waste my energy," the pawn said as he scratched the back of his head a little, looking at the ground with an uncertain expression. When he looked back to the small girl, he saw her sit on the ground. The pervert slightly smiled and sat down as well.

"Good point. Still, don't be too greedy," Koneko said after a short silence. However, she crossed her arms and glared at Issei. "You are holding back in our fights. Stop that."

"Spars are meant to fight while holding back, right?" Then the pawn widely grinned, holding his chin proudly. "Also, don't want to ruin the surprise by showing off all my awesome skills!"

Blankly, the first year student stared at him in silence. After a short while, her forehead wrinkled a little and she stated stoically:

"You're not cool."

The future harem king winced and rubbed his chest, trying to soothe his pain from the metaphorical arrow. He decided not to say anything more.

He tented to piss girls, or in this case Koneko, more off the more he said something.

At first, only the rustling of leaves filled the area, and the occasional magic blast from the other side of the little house.

Suddenly, the small girl spoke up quietly:

"Why are you trying to be so nice to me?" A look of disgusts filled her face as she leaned away a little and made a cross with her arms. "Not into you."

Another arrow hit his heart, but the pawn still managed to flash her a small, pained smile, despite hunching over in agony.

"Well, you just seemed to need a friend," he said with small hesitation, causing the youkai's eyes to widen by a small fraction.

Issei sighed. After Sid told him about her...origins, it only gave him more motivation to become someone she could lean on.

He already did plan to get closer to Koneko.

Looking back, the results were...suboptimal.

Most of the times, the talks he had with her were rather one sided and weird. Well, for him at least since Koneko only stared at him with judging eyes every time he said something.

Maybe it's because the usual topics were rather generic, like how her day was or it was about the weather. And that was when he managed to not derail into his favorite topic.

Boobs. And girls, but mostly boobs.

Naturally, that rewarded him with some painful events caused by Koneko.

The suplex having hurt the most.

Suffice to say, Issei did his best.

"I have friends," Koneko replied with a small, adorable pout.

"You don't seem to trust them enough. Or me," the pawn stated bluntly, trying to suppress the pain of offending such a cutie.

"I do trust you. Somewhat." By now, the rook's eyes narrowed, her body tensing a bit as she leaned forward a little.

"Then when are you going to tell me that you are a nekoshou?" At his statement, Koneko flinched and backed away a little. Issei sighed and scratched his chin awkwardly. "Sid told me. He's...good at reading people."

This was so not his comfort zone. But someone had to do it.

Sometimes he had to take a page from Sid...and be as direct as possible. Dancing around the issue wasn't going to help. This issue being her fear of senjutsu.

Question was how good he was at that.

But, and not to sound like an asshole…

They were going to need her full power.

"No one is judging you here," Issei carefully said as he raised his hands in a placating matter when Koneko stood up, moving back a little. "Much less me. I was in Kyoto, remember? I think I saw every youkai that exists out there." A dry chuckle escaped him after he pointed at himself. "I mean, I understand why you wouldn't want to tell me. You don't know me, not like the others."

The rook didn't move from her spot. That was a plus. But she still had a conflicted expression on her face, contemplating whether to leave or not. She looked to her back, before looking back at Issei.

She didn't say a word, causing quiet to settle in the area again.

"You somewhat remind me of a friend," the pawn said after a while, still remaining seated as he stared to the sky. When he peaked over to the first year, he took her silence as a sign to continue.

"You are just as stubborn as she is. And you are both afraid of things that you shouldn't be afraid off," Issei elaborated and gave her a soft smile.

"Don't pretend you know how I feel like!" Koneko snarled all of a sudden, barring her teeth and crouching down a little, ready to pounce on Issei.

Yet he remained calm. Beside the small shiver running down his spine that was.

"Actually...I kind of do," he stated, trying to suppress his sweating, surprising the nekoshou, who tilted her head in confusion.

And he didn't lie.

Juggernaut Drive.

The ultimate form of Boosted Gear, granting him the power the great Welsh dragon had when he was unsealed.

At the cost of his sanity and life span. He didn't miss the parallels to senjutsu.

Ever since Ddraig told him about it...It scared him.

And the dragon did not judge him for a moment.

"You don't want to be a monster because you fear what senjutsu might do to you." He shook his head and stood up with crossed arms. Seeing Koneko biting her lip, Issei assumed he was getting to her.

Or he made her think of the various methods she could kill him with. He sure hoped it was the former than the latter.

"But senjutsu itself isn't bad. Taichi can teach you how to use it safely." Issei's smile slightly wavered as he turned his gaze to the ground. "And I think...it's worse to feel powerless than being afraid."

Despite the inquiring stare he received by Koneko, he didn't commented further on it.

It's in the past. Gritting his teeth, Issei decided that he didn't want to feel weak ever again. Especially not against that fried chicken.

He took a calming breath and put his hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly, but didn't back off.

A small part of Issei was partying hard that he managed to touch her. But most of him reflected his small grin.

"If you don't want to hurt your family...then don't. Simple as that. You are stronger than me. If I can control this...it should be a piece of cake for you."

At first, she stared with a blank face at him. For a moment, Issei thought he messed up, his grin wavering a little.

Then, her mouth corners twitched slightly. Those little twitches formed into a smile.

"...Thanks," Koneko replied and bowed slightly.

Koneko had a very cute smile, he noticed with a flushed face. Turning his face around slightly, he grinned widely.

He nailed it! Mentally, he cheered for himself, pulling his fist to his body in a small celebration gesture.

"That is pathetic."

Ddraig would not bring him down!

When he turned his head around, Issei tilted his head in confusion.

Koneko was staring at him with suspicion.

"That sounded a bit too wise though," she said with narrowed eyes and Issei laughed nervously, avoiding eye contact. Then he sighed, hanging his head low.

"Actually, I rehearsed that speech a lot." Still, he raised his thumb at her with a cheeky smile. "Cool, isn't it?"

"Still not interested," Koneko immediately said, shooting a third arrow at his heart. Before the pawn could bring up a retort, she suddenly resumed a fighting stance. "Enough talk. Let's start again."

Issei gulped. Despite her apparent displeasure, he hoped that she would hold back a little.

Oh, how wrong he was.

/

Taking a deep breath, the future harem king focused on the energy in his body. It felt different from the one he once had as a human, so it took some time getting used to. Thankfully, Ddraig was there to give some...support.

"Slowly, slowly…too slow...wait, that's the pace! Keep that up!" Ddraig hissed in annoyance. "No, a bit less power...Perfect!"

The pervert grunted. Vague was better than nothing. Trying to keep up the current flow of his magical energy in his body, he opened his eyes. This was followed by a smirk.

Red glowing lines with green edges ran across his arms, filling it with power at the same time.

So devil magic was red opposed to his human green. Good to know.

Lifting his shirt, he saw the same lines decorating his entire body.

"Aha! It worked!" Issei exclaimed loudly, looking at his fist with pride, before smashing it down in a karate chop into a rock in front of him.

It shattered with ease, throwing debris around the place.

One piece of the rock narrowly missed Rias, who turned her head slightly to avoid it. She walked up to Issei with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

"Issei? I didn't know you knew how to use touki."

As she said that with some amusement, the rest of the peerage started to gather behind her, wondering what just happened, whether from sight or from sound.

The sudden audience made him feel a bit awkward.

"Well...what I'm using isn't very advanced." He pointed at the lines on his body as he explained. "I'm just pouring magic into my body to get it into prime condition. I can't punch magic balls out or something." He tapped his chin for a moment. "I think Sid called it reinforcement..." After he hummed in thought for a while, he turned his head towards Taichi, the monkey youkai, who relaxed on a round boulder. "Hey, was it called reinforcement?"

"Yup."

"Thanks!"

With that, Issei turned back to the peerage and grinned as he put his hands on his hips.

"It's pretty easy too once you get down to it!" Drool slowly left his mouth as his grin turned goofy and he began to grope the air. "I just have to imagine myself as boobs. I can't apply to much force or else it will hurt them...hehehe..."

He pointedly ignored the exasperation, blushing, amusement and dry judgment on their faces entirely. It was the best way for him to concentrate.

Sid always did say that people all have their own trigger image. His were boobs.

Anyway, they all turn their heads towards Taichi after they were done reacting to his explanation.

After he noticed the stares, the monkey shrugged.

"Hey, don't look at me. He came up with it himself." He snapped his fingers and pointed at them with a lazy expression. "Before you want to try that, I would suggest trying that with a stone or something. Don't want your body to explode because you put too much power into it."

Everyone nodded in understanding. Though Asia was the only one who didn't look at the monkey but rather at Issei. While blushing.

Mentally, the pervert shrugged. Maybe she was dizzy.

"Wow, for someone who wants a harem, you sure are dense."

Issei tilted his hand in confusion as he looked at his left arm. What did he mean?"

"Forget it."

Now Ddraig sounded like he was talking to an idiot. How rude!

"Hm, it does sound quite simple...But it also sounds quite exhausting," Akeno said, interrupting the pawn from his thoughts. Humming in interest, she touched her chin with her hand.

"Sure, you spend your own magical power, in this case demonic energy, into physical power. Somewhat like a boost from Boosted Gear. Using senjutsu is just like using a small AA battery. Helps, but can't last forever," the monkey youkai explained as he yawned.

"I still feel a bit...conflicted about letting an outsider help us. Or the fact that your friend isn't here to help out personally," Rias said all of a sudden, sending a frown at Issei. The latter didn't understand what the real problem was.

Maybe she didn't trusted his friend. Well, then he just had to convince her that Sid was someone to be trusted!

"He said he is busy. Besides, I trust Sid. He's never let me down!" His grin wavered a little when he looked up, remembering something. "Okay, he did let me down sometimes...But when it really counted, he was there for me! Wasn't always a help, but he was there!" A small pause after his exclamation and he began to frown. "He can also be a dick sometimes...and is a traitor, getting a woman before me...and honestly, he smells sometimes too..." He crossed his arms and looked to the ground, a brooding expression on his face. "Now that I think about it, he pretends to be more mature than he actually is, he likes dirty jokes and does references because he thinks it's cool, but it makes him sound more like an old man, which is also a complex of his and-" He stopped his count, his hands stopping at three fingers, and noticed the weird stares directed at him. Issei turned his head towards Taichi in confusion. "Where was I going with this?"

"You wanted to make them trust me and in extension the boss. You failed spectacularly," the monkey commented amused, not moving from his spot.

Before the pawn could drown in embarrassment, Ddraig spoke up, equally amused:

"Way to go, partner."

"Why didn't you stop me?!" Issei yelled at his left arm with a flushed face.

Sid was so going to kill him once he heard of this.

"Because it's hilarious."

The pervert spluttered at the blunt answer, but Rias snapped her fingers to make him quiet. She turned her focus on the monkey, taking a few steps closer to him with an intrigued smile.

"Since we are talking about your…Master...Why are you following Mr. Noir?"

"He makes sure I'm remembered," Taichi replied wistfully after a small pause.

Issei shared the same expression, despite the confusion on everyone's face.

Asia's reaction summed up what everyone felt.

"Huh?"

The monkey chuckled and raised himself up slightly in order to sit, his feet dangling in the air.

"It's complicated. But...I owe him. A lot. He brought me back to my comrades. It's the least I can do to help him." He paused for a moment and then looked at the pawn with a cocky grin. "Oh, and Issei of course."

"Don't just add me like an afterthought!" Issei complained, but this only led to laughter of everyone in the area. Including from inside him.

Great, now his face was as red as Boosted Gear.

Suddenly, Taichi's face grew serious in a split second.

Actually, that was a bit startling, as Issei jumped back in surprise.

"Gotta go. Don't lose, kay?" He quickly said...and popped out of existence.

Only the rustling of the trees and the dirt that was whirled around disturbed the silence in the area. Akeno was the first to regain her composure, her mouth forming into an o.

"That was quite sudden."

Everyone nodded and Issei bit his lips a little.

"I sure hope Sid is okay."

/

The peerage concluded that there wasn't much they could do for Taichi or Sid, and since nobody knew where they were, they decided to focus on their upcoming Rating Game.

Which meant a strategy meeting.

Right now, everyone assembled in the main room, having taking place on seats and couches. Yuuto sat to the left of Issei, while Asia was close to his right.

Very close. He tried to focus on the situation, not on the breasts squeezing against his arm as she hugged his arm in fear.

Koneko and Akeno had their own seats, and they all faced the now blank screen of the projector, with Rias right next to it with a pointer in hand.

They all just watched all public records of Riser's Rating Games. Rias decided it might be a good way to let her team see what their enemy was capable off.

The peerage itself wasn't that big of an issue. Hell, if they were all guys, Issei wouldn't even remember them after the game was over. Lucky for them, they were all cute, sexy or cute sexy girls. Nevertheless, they weren't that strong, according to the recordings.

He saw oni's who had more strength, tengus who had more speed and kitsune who had more magical energy.

Compared to his master's peerage, they were pathetic.

The problem were the numbers. One on one, everyone agreed they could easily beat them.

However, Riser wasn't in the top ten ranking for nothing. He made sure to use his pieces wisely. Even if the prick sacrificed his pieces, he made sure they counted.

Most of the time, he used them as distraction to destroy his opponent's via aerial bombardment, brought by his big breasted queen. Yubellana.

The bomb queen was the arrow of Riser, used to break down the walls through the cracks created by his other pieces. Though arrow was a bit of a misnomer…

Rocket. Yes, that fitted more.

Of course, there was the king himself. Despite his arrogance…

He was unfairly strong. His flames easily blasted through other bishop's magic, he could easily match the speed of knights in close combat and he could tank more hits than two rooks together thanks to the most broken ability one can have in a game of stamina.

Regeneration that gave the fried chicken borderline immortality.

Issei already knew the guy was strong, but the videos only confirmed it.

This was not going to be an easy ride.

"And if my sources are right, he recently recruited his sister, Ravel Phenex." Rias pushed up her glasses (very sexy, Issei noted) and clicked on her remote to show a new picture on the wall.

A picture of a blonde, drill haired, princess like girl was projected and Issei narrowed his eyes.

B85-W59-H84 cm.

Not bad, bigger than Asia's at least.

Before the pawn could appreciate Ravel's body more, something hit his head. As he hissed in pain, he looked at what hit him.

It was a cola can.

He glared at Koneko, who looked at him with disgust.

"You had a dirty look on your face."

"I was...observing for weaknesses!" Issei exclaimed, slightly blushing as he rubbed his sore spot.

"Found some then?" Rias asked with small delight.

"Uhm...she doesn't seem like a fighter?" The pervert slowly replied as he looked back on the screen, trying to find something. But now that he said that, her body did seem kind of frail…

On the other hand, she had that stupid immortality thing going for her, so she could probably afford that.

"Nice safe." Rias ignored Issei's sigh of relief and turned back to the screen with a frown. "She is a bishop. Her raw magical power is even above her brother's and the Bomb Queen. Do not underestimate her."

With that, she shut down the projector and sat down on the seat in front of her peerage. As she crossed her (sexy) legs, she let out a sigh and removed her glasses. Issei gave Asia a comforting pat, as she still seemed a bit terrified at the prospect of fighting these people.

Mentally, the wielder of Boosted Gear sent Ddraig a humorous question as everyone processed the information:

"Think I can go Balance Breaker on them?"

"I keep telling you, the last time we did that by sacrificing your damn arm. You want to do that again?" The dragon asked dryly and Issei shook his head with a wry smile.

Yeah, that wasn't fun at all.

And Sid just fixed the problem in the boring way.

He wanted a sexy girl to suck his finger!

"Hey, focus."

At his partner's words, Issei snapped back into reality, just in time to see his master talk in a serious manner.

"The best strategy I have would be to have Asia and Akeno in reserve, for healing and surprise attacks respectively. Yuuto would be our dagger and scout, weeding out their weak spots." At last, Rias pointed at her pawn and her rook. "Issei and Koneko would be our hammer, taking on the harder brunt of their attacks." When the two nodded, Rias focused her eyes on the pervert. "Issei, you shouldn't overdo your boosts. Stretch them out during the battle or else you run out of steam way too soon."

Issei nodded again with determination.

He was planning to do that anyway.

"Just take them out one by one and we should be good. Once we get to know our location, we might be able to set up some better traps." She breathed in and relaxed a little, slumping into he chair a bit. Then she looked into the round. "Any other ideas?"

The queen cleared her throat and chuckled darkly, letting some electricity spark in her hand.

"It would be best if I would take on the Bomb Queen. Nobody else might have a chance."

That scared and aroused Issei at the same time. But mostly scared. He gulped down, accepting Asia hugging his arm again in stride.

"Hm, I thought that as well. Anything else?" Rias asked and nobody spoke up, looking at the other with a questioning look.

At first, Issei whacked his brain to come up with idea. After a while, something spawned in his mind.

Hesitantly, he raised his hand. When he got everyone's attention, he spoke up as he scratched his cheek:

"Do you guys think holy water might do the trick?" When only blinking eyes were the response, his head hung low. "Sorry, just throwing ideas out. Probably illegal anyway-"

"Actually...it isn't. In fact, that is a valid strategy."

Issei looked up again with a raised eyebrow, seeing the astonished face of Rias as she thought about the idea. The pervert smiled.

He was on a roll with the relationship points!

"None of us have holy water."

And the damn handsome just had to rain on his parade. The bastard had to look sorry as well! Issei gritted his teeth.

"Uhm, I do. A little bit," Asia said with a quiet voice, but Rias shook her head.

"A little bit won't cut it. But it is a start."

"I could ask Sid to get us more. He has good connections," Issei said with a smile. Said smile slowly vanished.

He didn't really know when he was coming back, right? Better not tell his prez about it until the end...

"Do that. Normally I wouldn't resort to this, but it's about my freedom." She rubbed her forehead in frustration. "Why didn't I think of this?"

"Because holy water is as dangerous to him as it is to us?" Akeno giggled and glanced at the pawn. "Only a newly reincarnated devil would think of that."

"Is that an insult or a compliment?" Issei asked with a frown.

"Yes," the queen said amused and Issei's frown intensified. This caused her to giggle only more.

The president clapped her hands to get their attention back, her voice filled with authority.

"Still, we should use holy water only in emergencies. Too soon and Riser will prepare for it. Everyone gets a vial, if we can get them soon enough, but only use it when you believe you need to." She paused, probably for rhetorical effect. Then she nodded. "That is all for now. Dismissed."

/

Despite the dramatic end of the meeting, Rias decided to not part ways in order to sleep yet. Her next order was one that Issei would burn into his memory.

Sharing the hotsprings.

With only Asia somewhat objecting, weirdly only mentioning Yuuto as an argument and Koneko using you as an argument, the majority voted that they would all use the opportunity to relax in the hot water.

Naturally, there were some rules. No weird touching, keep the towel around your important parts and no splashing the water around.

Everything he could live with. He was still sad that he didn't get to touch something…

But boy, did he had the first row for some sweet bodies.

And Ddraig was sleeping, so no cockblocking comments by him!

It was just him, Yuuto and the girls, having a relaxing, quiet time.

Issei enjoyed himself, as he looked at the delicious eye candy in front of him. Sadly from a distance, that was one of the conditions.

Still, it was a good time as everybody let the warmth of the water and the clear sky night soothe their minds.

Of course, this was the moment when a rift opened up above them and a body fell down from it, before it closed up like a zipper.

As the body frantically moved in the water and started to move towards safe land, the entire peerage went into battle mode.

Everyone took on their fighting position, except of Asia, who took cover behind a rock. All fighter stood up, Magic circles appeared, swords were created, and Boosted Gear was summoned.

"Huh-Whazzup?" The Red Dragon Emperor drawled in a tired tone, but Issei was too focused on the intruder.

He visibly relaxed when he saw who it actually was. Then he tilted his head in confusion as he dismissed his Sacred Gear and looked at the man who dragged himself out of the water and lied flat on his back.

Obsidian Noir had a pale face as he spit out some more water. By now, everyone else relaxed as well, while Asia peeked out of her hiding spot.

"Sid? You okay?" Issei asked with hesitation.

As a response, he received a long suffering groan.

"I take that as a no," the pawn commented with small amusement.

As if sensing it, the man turned his head slightly with narrowed eyes and began to gesture with his hand.

"If someone asks you to kill a super space whale, say no immediately."

"What?"

"You don't wanna know," Sid replied at Issei's question, waving his hand to get rid of some water as he slowly stood up.

In the meantime, the others dismissed their methods of attack and Rias asked with crossed arms and a face of disapproval.

"That was a weird teleportation spell."

"Believe me, I don't recommend it." Sid groaned as he cracked his neck and turned back to Issei. "What did I miss?"

"We have to fight for prez' freedom from an engagement in a devil Rating Game against a phoenix rip off asshole and his cute, sexy harem plus sister," the future harem king elaborated casually and the Magician started to chuckle.

"Ha, knew something was gonna happen." He turned to Rias. "Can I watch?"

"Well, guests aren't forbidden. I don't see any reason not to," the king said with a small sigh, seeing that Sid was not remotely sorry for crashing the party. Still, as a sigh of courtesy, she bowed slightly.

The pervert on the other hand was surprised that nobody's towel fell down yet.

"Thank you for lending Taichi to support Issei."

"He's my friend. Of course I would help him," Sid explained and his face settled on Koneko. He waved to her with a small smile, who stoically waved back.

But for some reason, Issei could have sworn there was a small glint in her eyes.

Wait, he remembered something now. Before the adult could leave, the pawn touched his shoulder to stop him. Once he got his attention, he asked in a serious tone:

"Well, since you're here...think you can make some holy water for us?"

"...Did you get into masochism while I was gone?" The man questioned with a disgusted look and he leaned away slightly.

"No, we need that as a weapon against the fried chicken!" Issei exclaimed with a flushed face, ignoring the snorts behind him. Sid shook his head in amusement and pat the perverts shoulder a few times.

"Actually wanted to sleep, but sure. But how strong do you need that?"

"Strong enough to beat a Phoenix?" Issei asked in an uncertain tone, not really show how to define it.

"Super holy it is," Sid said and nodded. Seeing a wooden bucket, he picked it up and turned his attention to Rias. "Where are the flasks?"

"In the kitchen, second cabinet from the right at the top," Rias told him with slight amusement.

"Thanks."

With that, the peerage was alone.

It was Yuuto who found his voice, though he was still suppressing some laughter.

Damn handsome.

"Am I the only one concerned about how weird that was?"

The rest of the team hummed in agreement. Not Issei, he was used to it. Still, he was glad that Sid was okay. With his help, they had a secret weapon against Riser.

As they all settled down again in the water, the pawn stared at his left arm from above the water. He made a fist with it.

They were ready. Only two days away before he could rip Riser a new one.

They could win. Their abilities were honed, their team play was on a high level.

No one could stop them.

"Long time since I saw that determination in you." A rumbling chuckle sounded inside Issei's head. "Give them hell, partner."

Issei smirked.

It grew wider when he saw Akeno's towel slightly slipping down.

Just a little more and-

"Pervert."

A fist came crushing down on his face.

"I take it back, I hope you lose," Ddraig commented dryly, but by then his wielder was already knocked out, his face submerged into the water.

/

Out of context, a man sitting in front of a bucket full of water, mumbling some weird words in the middle of the night was a guaranteed way to get to an asylum. Obsidian however just finished an important, in context normal task of making holy water. Wiping some sweat from his forehead, he let out a tired sigh.

"I can't believe I'm the only one awake now...after all the shit I went through..." He muttered in frustration. While he gave them their super weapon, they all went to sleep.

At least he thought so.

The Magician heard someone knocking. Turning around he raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?" The Magician asked the figure at the door.

"...I need your help."

Obsdian smiled lightly.


	6. Through the fire and flames I

The wait was always the worst.

Though to different degrees, it didn't matter in what situation. Waiting was the worst.

Whether one had to wait to get the perfect wind to blow in order to look under people's skirts or whether one has to be patient for girls to enter the dress room to undress. Situations, in which one waited for hours in order to get the special edition of an erogame. Issei had felt that kind of agony known as waiting.

But what he was experiencing right now? That was beyond anything than before.

This time, Issei got to know how a soldier felt like when he was about to enter a war.

Unlike Kyoto, the pawn knew exactly when he had to fight. The knowledge made it worse than constant readiness.

The day before today, Asia had to stay in his room, just because she couldn't fall asleep out of fear of the coming battle. It took him all night to calm her down. One of his methods was to promise her they would always be together.

And Issei was a man of his word. Ironically, the nun managed to calm him as well, as they talked to each other all night, her head on his shoulder, with almost not a single perverted thought.

Almost.

But the pawn had to admit, the closer to fight was coming, the more tense he got. Mere minutes were left until the maid of the Gremory clan, Grayfia, would come to pick the Occult Research Club up from their club room and one could feel the pressure in the room.

Everyone did their own thing to calm their nerves.

Koneko read some book with her usual stoic expression, sometimes scratching her combat gloves. Issei guessed that was all he would get to see from her in terms of nervousness.

Yuuto on the other hand sorely focused on checking his gear, making sure that everything was in working order. From his clothes, to his combat gloves, to his swords lying at the wall.

The president and vice president of the club drank tea, while the former read over some kind of paperwork.

Overall, one wouldn't suspect that they were nervous at all.

What Issei did to calm himself? He did what he did the last day as well before the bishop entered his room.

Mediating and breathing exercises.

In and out, with every breath the wielder of Boosted Gear slowly tried to let out all tension from his body. It worked rather well actually. Instead of emptying his head however, Issei did something else.

A certain picture was in front of his mental eye to soothe his mind.

The pawn himself, standing bravely in front of the females of the club. The darkness, trying to engulf them, was beaten back by his mere presence. This warranted a wide smile from the cute, sexy girls behind him, who hugged his body in appreciation.

That picture was the representation of his dream of Harem King. Of his determination to protect his future harem from all harm.

And Yuuto. But only because Issei was better than simple spite and he was a comrade.

It didn't change the fact that the damn handsome was barely included into his safety light.

Sid wasn't included because he could handle himself.

Speaking of him, he played around with his smart phone, looking visibly bored as he just slowly slipped down the couch like he was melting.

At least one took it easy, Issei thought with a scoff.

"Stop being such a pansy. It's a real battle since ages. You should be excited, not worried."

Okay, two took it easy. The dragon inside of him didn't stop being giddy at the upcoming battle, getting on the pawn's nerves a lot than one time in the last days.

"So, how does this work, we sit here and you get beamed up to the battlefield and I get beamed up to the audience or to we teleport twice?" The Magician asked all of a sudden, looking up from his phone in a bored manner, not even bothering to reposition himself to sit properly.

Rias raised her eyebrow, looking up from her papers. Putting down her items, she gave Sid a small smile.

"I am sure that Grayfia will do separate spells."

"Neat," Sid responded casually and turned back to his phone.

Not even two seconds of silence went by until he spoke up again, this time directing a frown at Issei.

"Do you have a strategy against that guy?" He asked, not out of doubt, but honest curiosity. Which was understandable, Issei thought, given that the first thing the pawn asked of his friend when he met him again was to make holy water.

Now that he thought about it, Sid was very exhausted from wherever he came from.

Anyway, the pervert scratched his chin for a moment before nodding proudly.

"We planned to beat him up."

"That's a goal, not a plan," Sid deadpanned and gestured for him to continue. When Issei did not due to lack of alternatives and shrugged when Yuuto shrugged, disbelief was all over the Magician's face. "That guy is borderline immortal, ignoring some overpowered shit. Do you really think that will be enough?"

Okay, now the Boosted Gear wielder was confused and he frowned.

Was Sid trying to demoralize the club?

He shook his head slightly. No, he wouldn't be the type. At least not at important occasions like this.

Issei's eyes widened slightly.

Wait, was he trying to distract them by talking? Keep the pressure off by making them talk about the plans, reassuring themselves that everything will be fine?

If that was the case, the adult did a very poor job at it.

Sometimes the pawn forgot the man sometimes was socially awkward. He made that displeasure very clear as he narrowed his eyes at the Vietnamese, who bit his lip uncomfortably, realizing he was not helping a lot.

"It's the best plan prez has for us. And I agree. He has to run out of energy eventually," Issei said calmly, smiling at his master who smiled back in gratitude.

Mentally, he cheered. More relationship points!

"If you are all at full health after beating up his peerage," Sid muttered in a skeptic tone. Realizing that he received dirty glares from Issei and even Koneko and Rias this time, he cleared his throat and blushed a little.

"Sure you don't need any tips?"

The peerage looked at each other, then looked to their master. When she shook her head after tapping her chin, Issei addressed Sid with a handwave.

"Nah, I think we got this. Besides, you made us these little trinkets."

He pulled his bottle out, flinching at the same time as the others as he presented the thing that had holy water in it. In response, the Magician send him a flat look.

"They aren't win cheats. But alright, I put my faith in you." He snorted in amusement. "Heh, faith in devils."

This brought a chuckle out of Issei and when he looked around, he could see some amused smiles to varying degrees by the others. Asia even giggled, pressure almost forgotten.

Seeing that, the pawn decided to keep the talking going, not wanting an almost choking silence to arrive again, and turned to his master with a questioning frown.

"By the way...What about the other bishop you have, prez?"

While Asia and Sid also leaned forward with curiosity, the rest of the peerage gave each other knowing, uncomfortable looks. In the end, Rias sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"There are...complications. Because of those, he can't participate."

Issei shared a look of confusion with Asia, who tilted her head. Sid on the other hand simply raised an eyebrow and scratched his chin in thought.

"Loose cannon?"

Rias winced slightly and bit her lip.

"You could say that."

Before Issei or anyone else could say anything more, the room lighted up in a red flash, the familiar symbol of the Gremory family shining in the air.

While the senior devils stared at the light without much flinching, Issei and Asia had to avert their eyes completely.

The pervert was a bit amused to hear Sid curse loudly, even after the light ceased. The amusement grew when he kept on cursing, throwing some very dirty words around as he rubbed his eyes and blinked wildly.

To be safe, Issei covered the former nun's ears, much to her confusion. While he did that, he had a goofy grin directed at the one who teleported in.

It's the sexy maid, Grafia Lucifurge.

And no, Issei still didn't understand why she wasn't called Gremory or Lucifer, considering she was the damn Satan's wife.

Said maid had the composure of a queen, folding her hands in front of her while respectfully bowing towards the club president. However, she did raise an eyebrow at seeing Sid, who still had to adjust to the normal light of the room again.

Instead of asking the Magician himself, she turned to Rias, expression as emotionless as Koneko's.

"Who is this man, Lady Gremory?"

"A magician friend of my pawn. He is only here to give moral support. I vouch for him and any actions he will commit during the game," prez calmly explained and turned to Sid at the same time as Grayfia.

Instead of a dignified person, they saw a stumbling adult, carefully reaching with his hands where he walked. After he clicked his tongue, he turned his head to a wall and said in a polite tone:

"Pleasure to meet you, servant of the Gremory family. At least I assume you are. I just need a minute."

He took a deep breath and a light glow shone in his right hand, before he pressed it against his eyes. A moment later, he groaned in satisfaction and opened his eyes again, this time clearly seeing the maid.

When he bowed to her, she bowed back, but her blank look made it hard to know if she was delighted or not by this meeting. Issei's master certainly was not, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. At least the rest of the peerage shared a light chuckle at the Vietnamese's antics.

Either way, the pawn tilted his head in confusion at his friend and pointed at him.

"I thought you teleported before?"

Sid sent him a dry look in response and crossed his arms.

"Yes, but usually it's either a black gap with creepy eyes in it or cracking glass and rainbow colors. Not used to the bright dramatic light." His head turns to his left and he raised his hand to the maid. "No offense."

If the queen of Lord Lucifer was bothered by his casual tone, she didn't show it. She simply nodded and said:

"I shall bring you to the spectator booth after I brought the Lady to her battlefield."

After Sid gave her a nod in return, the maid turned towards the peerage and gestured to where she came from, the magic circle still decorating the ground.

"The match shall begin in ten minutes. I assume that you have finished your preparations?" Receiving a nod from Rias, the maid continued on. "Then please step into the circle."

As the group gathered on the teleportation spot, Grayfia cleared her throat once again and looked at prez.

"Before I forget, please remember that the Great Satan, Lord Lucifer is watching as well."

"Of course he is..." The king muttered and Issei bit his lip, remembering his conversation with Sid from the previous time.

Speaking of the man, he raised his arm and when he got the maid's attention, he tilted his head.

"How many are watching?"

"Though unofficial, many nobles are quite interested in seeing a rising star like Lady Gremory fight against a known ranker like Lord Phenex," Grayfia elaborated and Issei gulped. He was sure that the others felt the pressure on them rising as well.

Great. An audience.

No big deal.

"Please remember that you cannot leave the battlefield until the match is over."

With that said, the maid began to cast the spell. But before that, the Magician yelled all of a sudden.

"Issei." The pawn looked at him and saw a very conflicted expression on his friend's face. "May the boobs be with you."

Despite the fact that his voice was full of agony, Issei couldn't help but smile at his words and saluted him.

"And with you."

"I sure hope they won't."

These were the last, flat words he heard before the pawn got engulfed in light with his peerage. Issei chuckled as Sid and Grayfia vanished from his view.

The wielder of Boosted Gear did wonder how Sid got along with that sexy maid as he got teleported.

/

"...I don't know if you are judging me right now or if that is your default face. Whatever it is, please stop staring at me."

/

Meh, he will probably have bad luck, Issei concluded.

Hopefully. The bastard got enough puss than it was allowed.

Anyway, when the peerage of the Gremory heir arrived at the location of their base…

Nothing changed at all. It was the same club house than before. On first glance.

When the Sacred Gear user extended his senses, he could feel that this place felt too new, too monotone to be the residence of the Occult Research Club.

The announcement of the jury, Grayfia, only confirmed his suspicion. It impressed him that they could create a full replica of the entire school, but it also pissed him off, just like his master.

Riser was really underestimating them.

His mistake, if Issei had anything to say about it.

Anyway, first thing the group did was to flesh out the plan for this Rating Game.

They didn't have to add much more than they did during the training camp.

After laying out some traps around their area, Yuuto would be assigned to be a hit and run unit around the sports field, south to the base of Riser. Asia would stay with Rias in base. Akeno would do her own thing and Issei and Koneko would go to the gym in order to get a checkpoint from where they could advance to Riser's location, enabling an attack from the south and the east.

If everything would go smoothly. The gym would be a first conflict point, since it would give the fried chicken a foothold as well.

The pawn and the rook would therefore play the first decisive fight in the entire game.

Because of that knowledge, the pawn played around with his thumbs as he took deep breaths.

He looked up when his master tipped on his shoulder, appearing as worrying as Asia behind her.

"Are you alright?" She asked, a reassuring smile on her face.

"Don't worry. I'm fine," Issei replied, shaking his head with a grin. While this calmed Asia down in the background, who sighed in relief, Rias simply nodded with a neutral expression.

"If you say so."

Left alone again, the reincarnated devil closed his eyes and folded his hands as he bit his lips.

He had to mentally prepare himself. The pawn had the tension and pressure under control. But he needed the proper mindset to win.

Killing blows were fair game here.

…

Issei quickly shook his head as Ddraig giggled more or less at the prospect of such a thing.

Okay, maybe not sure kill actions like ripping someone's heart out. But he will punch them with full power!

"Way to make this sound boring," the dragon stated, still trying to keep his laughing at bay with medium success.

Either way, the time he spent, while the others prepared the field, was on getting his head back into 'Kyoto' mode so to say.

In other words, removing his mental blocks from going full power. Without full power, he would have died several times over back then. He had to treat this fight just like that as well.

Issei didn't know how long he was in his mental world, but the rest of the peerage returned by the time he finished up.

When he stood next to his fellow devils, Rias stared at every single one of them with pride, but also with a commanding presence.

"It's time, everyone. I only have one thing to say." She smirked at them, radiating with confidence. "Win."

Her peerage nodded in determination, voicing out their approval of the command with a loud "Yes sir!"

"You know your positions. Keep radio contact by all means. Move out!" The king exclaimed, throwing out her arm.

The knight and the queen immediately took off and Issei was about to follow them, when his fellow rook stopped him by tugging at his sleeve.

"Issei, wait a moment," she said in her usual stoic tone, but there was a hint of pleading in it too.

The pawn raised his eyebrow at the nervous youkai. His eyes widened even further when she took a deep breath and fueled her body with nature energy.

The next moment, cat ears and a tail plop out of her body. Not slowly appearing or a flash of light, no, they simply plop into existence.

Not that the pawn wasn't used to it, he was surprised that she was willing to use the very same power she was afraid of.

While Asia switched between pointing at the tail and at the ears in wild confusion, not able to form proper words, Rias shared the same shock. As she gaped at her nekoshou servant, the king took a hesitant step forward, eyes wide and filled with disbelief.

"Koneko, you-"

"I decided not to be a burden." Koneko interrupted prez and rubbed her right arm with a frown. "I...still feel uncomfortable with this." She looked up, a fire ignited in her eyes. "But I don't want to lose prez to such a disgusting man. And if an idiot like Issei can use it, so can I."

Issei laughed nervously at the jab against himself, but Rias choked back a sob and embraced the petite girl, tears slowly running down her cheeks.

"Thank you...You have no idea how much that means to me," she quietly muttered.

After the cat youkai returned the hug with a soft smile and Asia wiping her own tears of, muttering something along the lines of how touching this was, they separated and regarded the two newcomers of the peerage with reservation.

"You aren't scared of me, right?" She asked quietly, averting her eyes in small shame.

Asia and Issei shared a confused look, before the two of them shrugged and smiled at their senior.

"I see the same senior who helped me get used to the life of a devil. And I do not judge, for it is G-, I mean His will," Asia replied warmly, only frowning for a moment at God's name. Koneko nodded slowly and sighed in relief, before the reservation returned when she regarded Issei again.

The male in question scratched his head awkwardly, but his grin didn't waver.

"Like I said before, youkai aren't new to me. And I didn't develop PTSD from Kyoto, so no worries. I still like you, Koneko."

For some reason, this caused the small girl to blush and look away. And caused the nun to pout, while Rias just rubbed her forehead in slight amusement. Issei tilted his head. Did he say something wrong?

The groan from Ddraig in his head insinuated that at least.

"Don't say it like that. It's embarrassing," Koneko muttered and walked to the door. The pawn followed her, right after waving Rias and Asia goodbye.

As they quickly made their way through the school grounds, the nekoshou still avoiding any eye contact, the voice of the queen sounded through the mental connection.

"My my, do you like us too?"

At first, the pervert didn't know what the vice president was talking about. Then he remembered what he said to Koneko back in the fake club room.

Wait, did Yuuto and Akeno hear the conversation?

"Yes, Issei. We did," the knight replied with a chuckle, as if reading his mind.

So there wasn't a mute function. The more you know, Issei guessed.

Anyway, the pawn grinned widely as he and the rook neared the gym and said in a lighthearted tone:

"Of course I do! I don't care what you are, what matters is who you are as an individual! One can't judge someone because of their species!"

There was a small pause in the magical communication and the reincarnated devil wondered if there was some bug in it. But then, Akeno quietly spoke up, her voice sounding a lot more subdued than usually.

"Even Fallen Angels?"

When they reached the entrance to the gym, Issei turned to Koneko with narrowed eyes, who bit her lip.

So apparently it was another insider secret.

"Well, sure, one of them killed me..." The pawn winced slightly, rubbing his chest a little, but he quickly shook his head. "But that doesn't mean all of them are bad, right? I learned to look past that."

In the end, the race didn't matter to Issei. As long as they were nice to him, he was going to be nice to them. Especially if they had boobs.

Sid also always said that "people can be retards, no matter the race. So racism is stupid."

Despite the very gruff tone, Issei had to agree with that.

"I see..." Akeno's voice sounded very contemplating, but then regained its usual cheerfulness. "That's good to know."

That's when prez' voice intercepted the conversation, authority filling her voice.

"Okay people, try to quiet down. Who knows who can hear you nearby."

Following her orders, the connection went quiet. While Issei did wonder what the queen's reason for this short conversation was, he had to focus on the game.

Carefully, he followed Koneko as they sneaked towards the stage. When they hid behind the big curtains, the nekoshou sent him a frown as she extended her fist.

"If I go out of control, I need you to stop me."

Only hesitating for a moment, the pawn bumped his own fist against hers with a smirk.

"I think I can handle that. You can trust me."

Considering he matched some very fearsome opponents and survived, he was pretty sure he could take her. At least long enough for stronger people to step in.

The rook's mouth corner twitched at his response, before her face settled back into her neutral form.

This is when Grayfia's voice sounded through the area.

"The Rating Game between Rias Gremory and Riser Phenex begins now!"

Unlike what the pawn expected, it did not start of with a bang, but instead with treacherous silence. The two servants of Rias hid behind the stage, awaiting their enemy.

They had to enter this place or else they would run the risk of being attacked from behind when they tried to get to Gremory territory.

Because of that, Issei could easily pick the attacker's presences up. Sharing a look with Koneko, the two of them nodded.

"Four people are coming to the gym. Three pawns, one a higher peace. Feels like rook," the rook stated, her ears twitching a few times as she closed her eyes.

"Seconding assessment," Issei muttered, not used to the mental talk.

A short moment later, it was Akeno who spoke up, sounding very professional.

"Can you take them?"

The pawn and the rook looked at each other. No words were exchanged to know what the other thought, only a small grin at each other.

The feral part of them were quite similar.

"Yes. No need for you to overexert yourself, vice prez," the future harem king said, stretching his neck slightly. The queen chuckled in response.

"My, if you insist, who am I to say no?"

With that, Koneko started to crack her knuckles slightly to warm up, while the male student positioned his left hand right in front of him.

In the end, there was one more companion in this battle.

"Ddraig! Boosted Gear, Standby," Issei thought, and he could _feel_ the dragon's feral grin.

"No need to tell me twice, brat! Let's get this part started!"

A slight flash of red later and the majestic form of Boosted Gear guarded his left arm with his power.

Right on time as well, because both Gremory servants turn to the door, the moment the four previously sensed individuals enter through it with prideful steps.

"Come out, servants of Gremory! We know you are there!"

Peeking from his cover, the pawn raised an eyebrow. The exclamation of the Chinese dressed, big boobed woman, the rook, confused him and he turned to his senior, who shrugged.

Behind the apparent rook, the two pigtailed twins Riser made out with were still dressed in sports clothing, carrying giant sports bags with them. The final pawn was in a haori and a staff, her hair reminding him of a weird bug, especially with that blue color.

What did Sid call it? Blue Beetle?

Anyway, the reason for his confusion was rather simple...

Did they seriously expect they would simply go out?

That's when Issei realized what this fight was for them.

A game. That was everything this battle was for Riser's peerage. They weren't treating this too serious.

Unlike him, who instead of a contest, saw a fight of survival.

They stood there rather casually. Hell, two of them still hadn't got their weapons out!

These two had to go first.

"Well, they are asking for it," Ddraig commented amused and the pawn slightly nodded.

They didn't take this serious at all.

The better for him.

Not bothering to do some small talk or announcing, he focused some magical energy into his body, deciding that boosting would be overkill. Reinforcement should be enough, coupled with his weapon. Even with his less than perfect control, the wielder of Boosted Gear was certain it was stealthy enough to evade the enemy's senses.

The youkai next to him snapped her head towards him at the energy build up and frowned. She tugged at his sleeve and opened her mouth.

"Issei, you-"

Before Koneko can finish her sentence, the Sacred Gear user grinned slightly.

He finished charging up.

Now he could show what he could do when he was serious.

Instantly, he exploded from the cover and reared back his Sacred Gear to smash it down on the left twin's face.

The surprise was clearly visible when Issei flew against her like a rocket and by the time she tried to open her bag in panic, Issei was already right in front of her. Because of that, the girl was in a very awkward position to defend.

And her head crashed against the ground, creating small cracks around the spot the back of her head rocketed into.

Using the motion of his hook, the pawn spun in the air and rolled off the ground, before quickly standing up and putting up his fighting position.

"A pawn of Riser Phenex's peerage has retired."

The remaining members of said peerage blinked slightly, slowly looking from the vanishing body towards Issei, shock creeping into their faces, much to the pawn's delight.

Still, a small part of the pawn deeply hoped that nobody lied to him about the whole "no one gets severely injured" in Rating Games. If not, he was pretty sure the girl would be crippled, devil or not.

Either way, the announcement was neat. He didn't had to check the body then.

…

Wow, that sounded way more morbid than he wanted to.

"Ha, a classic. That moment of realization when my host is more ruthless than they thought."

"Glad that you have fun," Issei grumbled quietly to his soul resident, but yelped when a damn roaring _chainsaw_ barely missed his head.

As he quickly backed off, he at least knew now what was in the bags. And what would happen if you didn't take out both twins at the same time.

Instead of the easy going, cute face, the remaining twin's face was burning with anger as she straight up growled at him while revving the weapon's engine.

"You fucker!" The girl snarled and began to swing her unorthodox weapon around in wild movements.

Movements the high school student could easily dodge. As he swayed away from the attacks, making sure to keep the other two Riser pieces in his field of vision, Issei frowned slightly.

What, did they really think he would just walk up to them slowly like a normal duel? Letting them prepare to fight?

Judging from the dark looks, they actually did.

The past self would have done that, but after the first few fights, it quickly got beat out of him.

If you see an advantage, take it. Honor had no place in survival.

And this was for survival. The survival of his master's freedom! And her boobs!

Anyway, with that quick thought done, Issei quickly ducked under another wide swing of his opponent, took a wide step forward into her range and twisted his body to throw a devastating punch with his Sacred Gear against her stomach.

To her credit, the twin managed to position her weapon against the punch, so that she would only fly away from the force instead of barfing her food out.

As she flew in mid air she grinned, visibly cooled of somewhat, while her two companions began to move to encircle Issei, once the danger of friendly fire was gone.

A solid plan, to use numbers against them. While they would waste his time, they could let the chainsaw girl recover and cool down her head even more.

There was one factor they didn't know however.

They didn't see Koneko, who managed to mask her presence by moving behind a new cover while Issei gained their attention.

Because of that, the twin was not able to react in time to limit the damage a full speed Lariat to the ground would do to her.

As the twin gagged in pain, the cat youkai took a deep breath and threw all her weight to the ground, smashing her opponent the same way Issei did the other twin.

It left an even bigger crack.

"A pawn of Riser Phenex's peerage has retired."

Hearing the announcement, the Sacred Gear user grinned at his senior, who rolled her shoulder for a moment.

Before the remaining survivors of this skirmish could completely regain their wit, Koneko rushed against her fellow rook and threw her jabs. To the enemy's credit, she did a good job at parrying them with her kicks. Naturally, legs weren't meant for parrying and the nekoshou quickly overwhelmed her. By getting into a range the legs were useless, Koneko got the momentum on her side. So much, that she started to speak.

"At least give me a headstart before doing this."

Hearing her disapproving tone, Issei laughed for a moment, before knocking a stab by the enemy's staff away with his gauntlet.

"You-Whoa! You mean the first or the second twin?" He asked when the other pawn began to mix her attacks up between spins, swings and stabs.

It wasn't very hard to block or dodge them, so Issei took it a bit easy.

"Yes," Koneko dryly replied before she caught one side kick with her arm, threw the offender to the ground and proceeded to keep the enemy in a choke hold.

Considering the amount of pain the Chinese girl was and how quick she turned blue, the lock was perfect.

"And warn them ahead? No, thank you!" The pervert grunted out before he jumped away from another swing from the enemy pawn.

Said pawn growled at him, her hands almost breaking her weapon in rage.

"Fiend! Don't you have any sense of honor?!"

At her exclamation, the pawn sighed and grabbed the staff that swung down on his hand with his right hand. The moment her eyes widened, he reared back his fist and uppercutted the girl at the chin. Not letting up, he sent a flurry of punches, knocking her head around a couple of times, before pausing and letting her fall to the ground with a bloodied face.

"Does that answer your question?" Issei said after wiping some sweat from his forehead. Still, he was still breathing normally.

"Nice one, partner! Knew you still had it in you!" Ddraig cheered and his wielder chuckled lightly.

"A pawn and a rook of Riser Phenex's peerage has retired."

Hearing the announcement, the Sacred Gear user turned his head to his partner, who just moved from her choking position and dusted of her hands.

The two of them make eye contact for a short moment and smiled at each other. Following that, Koneko put a hand to her ear and contacted their master.

"Area secured," she reported, visibly relaxing at the lack of danger.

"That's good to here. Move on to the next spot. Akeno will hold the line there and stay in reserve," Rias replied in a warm tone. This made Issei grin wider as he made a mock salute.

"Roger that!"

He laughed loudly and despite the fact that the youkai rolled her eyes, he gave her a thumbs up.

"Good job, Koneko!"

Her mouth corners twitched as she extended her hand for a shake.

"You weren't so b-"

Before she could end her sentence, her eyes widened and Issei quickly mirrored her expression only moments later. Without hesitating, the two of them rushed towards the exit.

The moment they reach the door, Issei tackled the smaller girl and covered her body with his own.

Then the gym exploded behind them, launching the two quite a distance away.

The blast burned in his body in form of pain, but he gritted his teeth as he tried to turn himself around. Accomplishing that, his back slid over the ground, causing more minor pain while holding Koneko close to his body.

Thankfully, he managed to mitigate the actual damage with some last minute Reinforcement, but just to be sure…

"Ddraig, damage report?" He thought and immediately got an answer from the unusual serious dragon.

"Just some minor bruises. You're still good to go."

Nodding for a moment and letting go of his small senior immediately (while promising himself to never wash the shirt again), the pawn stood up as fast as possible and took on his fighting position next to Koneko. Gritting his teeth, Issei mentally cursed.

The Bomb Queen arrived.

The eye patched, big boobed woman sneered at them from the sky, her hand still smoking from the blast she created. Looking to where she previously pointed, the pawn groaned.

The gym was a complete wreck.

"I'm open to plans," Koneko muttered to Issei and the pawn sweated furiously.

He was no good at flying combat. At least not with devil wings. If he had his dragon wings, it would be easier...But he didn't 'unlocked' them yet.

Luckily for him, the decision was already made by someone else.

"I have a plan. You go ahead while I deal with her."

Following the dark from of the other queen, the two pieces on the ground brightened up visibly.

The Priestess of Thunder floated in the air, her signature magic crackling in her hands.

Without saying any more words, a wordless message passed from Koneko and Issei to Akeno.

Win.

The allied queen smiled at them, before focusing back on her counterpart. This was the moment the ground units ran past Yubelluna, who focused on the more dangerous opponent.

But despite knowing that the pawn and the rook won't be able to do much…

There was one thing Issei could do.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Ddraig asked in a neutral tone and his host slightly nodded.

Any small advantage could be helpful.

With that in mind, the pawn and his dragon grinned.

/

Akeno had to admit, this game had been going pretty well.

Already they managed to score three pawns and a rook, without many casualties. Despite being newly reincarnated, the shrine maiden was impressed with Issei's martial might.

It somewhat excited her. Considering his previous words about heritage, a small blush appeared on her face.

Maybe he could…

Akeno shook her head. Now was not the time to fantasize.

Anyway, despite her positive feelings, she still had her pride as a senior and as a queen, so she glared at her opponent with a dark smile.

"Well, I always wanted to match myself against a famous queen like yourself...Bomb Queen."

And she wasn't exactly lying. When she saw the footage of her explosions…

Suffice to say, Akeno was very willing to show who the real queen was.

Said opponent scoffed lightly and crossed her arms underneath her scandalous outfit.

"I do not like that n-"

"Dragon Shot!"

Before she could end her sentence, Akeno saw how a red energy ball the size of a head flew against the Bomb Queen's back. The priestess' eyes widened when she saw that it was Issei who shot it out of his Sacred Gear, because focusing back on running away.

The attack was at least mid class. Not overly lethal towards a strong devil like Yubelluna, but would still cause reasonable damage.

If it hit of course.

Because of his shout however, the queen of Riser had enough time to dodge out of the way before turning around with a scoff. Seeing where it came from, the eye patched woman prepared her trademark bomb spell and aimed it at the back of Issei.

"What's up with that weak-"

Yubelluna's eyes widened in pain when she dodged a thunderbolt grazed her arm. Snapping her head around, she spotted Akeno, a full smirk on her face as she extended her arm towards her enemy.

The sadist was not one to pass up an opportunity created by her cute junior.

While the Bomb Queen clutched her arm in pain, trying to stop the shaking, the Priestess of Thunder waved her finger in a chiding manner.

"My, my...Are you sure you want to avert your eyes from me?"

The reaction of Yubelluna came in form of a ball of pure explosive power which Akeno easily ducked under.

This started the air dogfight between the two devils.

Conquering the sky with their thunder and explosions, the flying queen's always were on the move, deploying several movements like dives, rolls and circling to put the other off. All while throwing their magic at the other.

Despite the fact that they kept using the same type of magic, it was not monotone.

Curving, homing, splitting up, their energy was used as viable as a Switz knife.

During all that, Akeno couldn't help but think of other things than the fight she was currently in. It was helpful that the two combatants stopped for a moment to reassess the situation, slowly circling around each other.

She looked at her hands, the thunder crackling in it.

It would be so easy if she used the other part of her heritage. Her thunder was strong indeed, but with lightning, Akeno knew for a fact that she could destroy the Bomb Queen. If Koneko could use the powers she hated, shouldn't the child of a human and a fallen angel also be able to?

It would help Rias, her best friend, immensely. Her peerage.

Shouldn't she get over her hate at her father because of that? Her hate at her heritage?

Issei said that he wouldn't hate her. That the race didn't matter who she was.

Yet…

Akeno let out a small sigh.

Then she unleashed the unchanged thunder, untouched by the light. Right when Yubelluna dodged it and was about to throw her own bomb, the queen of Rias sighed loudly, interrupting the Bomb Queen.

"It appears that Koneko is the more mature one. Shame on me, at being such a disgraceful senior."

Akeno shook her head with a sad smile.

She couldn't do it. Not now. It wasn't a decision she could make lightly. And one talk wouldn't convince her that easily.

But perhaps she would be stronger in the future.

"What are you-"

Right when Riser's queen spoke up with a condescending look, a flash of thunder crackled right past her head. She barely managed to tilt her head to dodge it, but shock was clearly written on her face.

Akeno's sadistic grin didn't make her calm down even remotely.

"Don't you know it is rude to interrupt someone's monologue?" The priestess chuckled darkly, enjoying her fear immensely.

It appeared that upping the power level of her thunder was the right decision. No lightning, but she was still more skillful than Yubelluna, that much was clear. Only thing that worried Akeno was the Phoenix Tear...

Anyway, she could be introspective about her own issues later. First she had to bring her king victory.

With that in mind, she dived towards her fellow queen, who clicked her tongue in irritation.

/

Sirzechs Lucifer was a very busy man. Usually, a Great Satan like him would never go to an unofficial Rating Game. If he did that all the time, he would never be able to deal with all his other responsibilities.

But this was a game with his sister in it. So he managed to convince Grayfia, his beautiful wife, to clear his time table and his fellow Great Satans to cover for him.

Well, at least Serafall did. The other two were too busy with their own hobbies.

Anyway, the leader of the devils observed the game with much delight. It only began and yet dear Rias' peerage already got three pieces. Judging from the queen battle, it might even be four pieces.

He chuckled for a moment when he thought about how they scored the points.

It was kind refreshing to see some more...practical devils instead of the usual honored traditional ones. Sure, he was a fan of such traditions because of fair game and all that.

But taking every advantage available was in a devil's blood.

Ironically, this showed in a reincarnated one.

"Issei Hyodou, the wielder of Boosted Gear..." He muttered and his wife sent him a neutral look. Of course, Sirzechs mastered the art of reading her and elaborated with cheer. "I approve of him."

Only the small twitch of her eyes told him that she agreed with him.

His statement was not one many would share. Already, some nobles in the observer room muttered among each other, scoffing at the reincarnated devil and his dirty tricks, betting on Riser to turn the tide.

Luckily only a few were sharing their opinion.

One of the many who did not share it, was at the very edge of the room, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible.

The magician his wife brought, a guest of Rias. Naturally, the man intrigued him by simple association with his adorable sister.

If he was a threat...well, the Vietnamese would have a bad time.

From what the devil could see, the man was quite confident in his sister. Or rather her pawn, seeing how he mostly focused on the Sacred Gear user's screen and muttered a few times, grinning slightly, as if approving of his actions.

No worry at all. The few times he did show something negative, it was at most a groan. As if Issei did a mistake he always did.

Interesting.

Then the man reached into his pockets for some reason and picked up his phone. It was a rather old model, something one could clap open.

Subtly, Sirzechs repositioned himself in order to lean closer to the man. Straining his hearing a little, he listened to what the mortal had to say to the phone.

"Hello?"

Some devils nearby turned to the devil momentarily, before focusing back to the Rating Game. Why should they care, if the human had a phone call?

Yet, Sirzechs kept on listening.

"What do you mean, I forgot to tell Issei about-" He stopped his hissing when realization settled in his face. "Oh, that."

All of a sudden, he flinched and scratched his cheek for a moment.

"Hey, I have a lot on my plate, okay?" Obsidian Noir raised his hand in a placating manner. "I'm sure that he will find out Akeno sooner or-"

Before he could end his sentence, he yelped loudly before covering his mouth with is left hand.

By now, the other spectators turned to him, either with intrigue or indignation. Some even shushed at him.

He raised his hand in apology, before hissing back into his device.

"Ow! Quiet down!" Letting out a sighed, he rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "Fine, I'll let him know the day after tomorrow!" After a pause, he let out a groan. "Look, I told you before, my family goes first, then the rest. I gave you the list, didn't I?" Stopping for a moment, he leaned back on his chair, frustration written all over his face. "Yes, I know she means a lot to you, but give me a break! There are like a thousand souls I have to take care of!" By now, his voice reached normal room volume as he wildly gestured with his free hand. Then, he suddnly stopped, backing off from the image of his caller and his voice grew more frantic. "Okay, okay, you get to visit your darling in his dreams! Just don't make me watch again!" For some reason then, he shuddered in disgust. "I'm trying to watch a fight here, woman!"

Meanwhile, the other devils mostly chuckle at the human's antics or scoff at his commotion.

But Sirzechs observed him with hawk like eyes, making a small finger sign to his wife to gain his attention when something important happened. Then, he sent his full attention to the conversation Obsidian had. Why you ask?

Because whoever the man was talking to, was not via the deactivated phone.

/


	7. Through the fire and flames II

"Three pawns of Riser Phenex's peerage have retired."

Hearing this, Issei made a mental headcount as he ran beside Koneko towards the sports field to meet up with Yuuto.

With the pawn's and rook's 'kills', that made it seven pieces that were already down. Still, the Sacred Gear user knew better than be too overconfident and kept his senses sharp, like the nekoshou.

Because of that, the two of them only shared a quick look when they felt Yuuto's agitated presence enter their sensing radius before moving more slowly and carefully as they approached the small sports field shack the wielder of Sword Birth targeted as well in high speed.

Thanks to the traits of a knight, Yuuto arrived sooner than Koneko and Issei even stepped foot on the track field. Nevertheless, the latter two entered the half open shack as well and the pawn grinned slightly as he greeted the knight the moment they entered the small hut.

"Good to see you, buddy."

For a moment, the swordsman immediately went into battle mode and was about to unsheathe his blade, before he realized who was in front of him and widened his eyes in shock.

"How did you-Senjutsu?" The knight shook his head in small amusement and sat down on the ground again. "Very convenient."

"It totally is. I forgot the bliss of not suffering from surprise attacks anymore. Not many at least." Issei chuckled when he sat down next to Yuuto's left, while Koneko sat down to his right.

A small part of the pervert wanted Koneko next to him, but in combat, that desire was effectively suppressed.

Anyway, he let out a sigh and scratched his hair at the awkward silence, before he decided to break it by clearing his throat.

"Sooo...three pawns, ey? Guess that makes us even then in terms of points."

While the knight only gave him a small smile, it was Koneko who leaned forward and pointed at herself with a smug, yet smileless expression.

"If we go by points, a rook is worth five pawns. I'm winning."

This caused a laugh out of Yuuto, while Issei frowned with a slight blush.

"That's not very fair, is it?" He muttered, but the youkai simply shrugged, only her ear twitch telling Issei that she had way too much fun with this.

"Suck it up."

"I would rather suck something else, but okay..." Immediately, the knight ducked forward, just in time for a punch to imbed itself into the pawn's face. When his face returned back to its normal form, he covered his face with a strong groan and glared at the cat. "Ouch! What, too soon for jokes?"

"Dirty jokes, yes," Koneko deadpanned and huffed in disappointment.

As tears ran down Issei's cheeks for losing relationship points, the handsome one of the two boys cleared his throat and became more serious.

"Maybe we should focus back on the battle." He looked to the ground, making a rough sketch of the school and pointed to the three dots that he made outside the track field. "I wanted to provoke Riser by taking out his patrols, but he didn't bite."

That's when the wielder of Boosted Gear felt his killing intent. The youkai did too, for she stared at Yuuto in a worried manner, as the knight had an ugly, dark expression on his face.

"I think he even did it on purpose just to gauge my strength...He sure loves sacrificing people, huh?"

"To his defense..." He flinched slightly at the knight's enraged face, but Issei raised his hands with a frown. "Hey, I don't like the guy, but no need to paint him as a monster." The pawn let out a deep sigh. "Anyway, I'm sure if this wasn't a Rating Game, he wouldn't be so willing to sacrifice his people. Remember, this is still a game. He can afford to do stuff like that, it's a valid strategy. So try to relax, okay?"

Hearing his words, the knight appeared to be a bit conflicted...before he lets out a deep breath and actually looked sorry for his temper as he awkwardly smiled.

Koneko gave him a thumbs up. Mentally, the pervert cheered.  
"You're right. I shouldn't let my emotions get the better of me," Yuuto said, but Issei waved it off, as did the nekoshou.

Either way, the pawn leaned back at the wall and grinned.

"This is going pretty well, ey?" That's when the knight ducked forward again and let a punch hit Issei's shoulder. As he hissed in pain, he glared at the petite girl again. "Oww, what did I say now?!"

"Don't jinx it."

Surprisingly to her deadpan, it was Ddraig who added his own dry comment.

"Cat is right. Remember the last time you jinxed it? And I mean the serious last time."

At this, the dragon's host shuddered and hugged himself as he got a small distant look in his eyes.

"Bathroom oni..." He quickly shook his head when he noticed the knight's and rook's confused and worried expression. Then, he hissed at his gauntlet in a heated manner. "Anyway, that was just a joke!"

"Refer to my previous statement, dumbass."

Just when Issei was about to punch the gauntlet, not caring that it would only hurt himself, Yuuto began to laugh in a warm tone. Noticing the stares he received, the knight smiled softly.

"To be honest, it's very reassuring to talk with you right now." The swordsman shook his head and raised his fists to each of his side. "But we can't rest now. We gotta bring victory to our king. Let's get stronger together, alright?"

After the knight's companions knocked their own knuckles against his, Issei scratched his chin with a hum

"Maybe we should make some plans against the rest...I guess some insults against Riser might do the trick to enrage them. Or maybe use the environment..." Suddenly, the pawn's eyes widened and he clicked his tongue in irritation. "Well, guess not."

"What's wrong?" Yuuto asked and it's Koneko with a frown who elaborated as she slowly stood up at the same time as Issei.

"Bishop, rook and knight are coming. Be quiet."

"Now that I think about it, this place is very bad for hiding….they just have to blow this place up and we would be sitting ducks," the gauntlet wielder said as he burrowed his weapon into his right palm, grinning slightly.

But before the three of them could discuss anything more or get more combat ready, they hear a loud, tomboyish female voice call out to them.

"I, Carmine, am the Knight of Master Riser! I challenge the Knight that has taken out my comrades to single combat!"

Issei raised an eyebrow and shared a look of disbelief with Koneko.

Who would be stupid enough to-

Immediately, the two unarmed fighters grabbed Yuuto on his shoulder, who was about to just casually open the door. When he blinked at them in confusion, the pawn hissed at him in irritation.

"Dude, what are you doing?!"

"She asks me for battle. I want to answer that challenge," the knight explained, tilting his head like a confused dog.

Issei groaned and readjusted the crimson gauntlet on his hand as he walked towards the door, ignoring Yuuto's questioning look and Koneko's annoyed, but knowing look.

"There is a time to be honorable and there is a time to be an asshole. Now is the time to be an asshole!" Issei exclaimed and started to gather energy in his left hand. Then he ripped the door open with his right hand, taking a short look at the blond sister of Riser and the female mercenary girl at the front, while an eyepatched woman was further in the back, before unleashing the energy ball. "Dragon Shot!"

Both of them were visibly shocked by the sudden attack, but they still had enough combat sense to dodge the small power.

Nevertheless, Issei didn't yield the advantage and dashed forward against the eyepatched woman, who just gritted her teeth in preparation and blocked the heavy left straight. This caused her to skid back on the ground for a few meters, before she resumed her own fighting position just as Issei threw his right jabs at her. She quickly parried them.

This was when their exchange in attacks occurred. For every kick, an arm was there to block it. For every elbow, a quick twist, and it was dodge.

"You dare interfere with my challenge?!" Issei could hear the tomboy exclaim, before she yelped and a clash of metal sounded in the area.

Considering that he could hear Koneko grunt a lot as stones flew into the air at the sister of Riser, he felt safe enough to reply.

"You know, for devils you are really stuck up with that whole fair play thing," he said with a smirk, before raising his right leg to block a low kick from his opponent rook. Mentally, the Boosted Gear wielder compared the opponent in front of him with the previous pawns.

Way tougher and actually a challenge. Still got nothing on Koneko, which meant he could take her down with some effort and time.

The pawn grunted when the enemy landed a solid right punch in his gut. But it didn't deter him, so Issei grabbed her neck and pulled her down to introduce his knee to her face.

Several times.

Despite getting a few good hits in, it felt like trying to knee a stone wall. And that's when she didn't use her arms to cover her face. Issei had to let go with a click of his tongue when the enemy was about to cover him with her arms.

Seeing as she spit out some blood, but grinned excitededly, the Boosted Gear wielder decided he neither could afford to waste the effort nor time with her.

Especially since there are more than one opponents here.

So in the first time in this match, Issei decided to not only rely on reinforcement and use the ability gifted to him by the Welsh dragon.

Following his thought line, Ddraig cracked his neck in his mind.

"One boost, coming up!"

"Boost!" The voice from the gauntlet shouted and the green jewel momentarily shined. Feeling the raw, draconic power filling him, the pawn reared back his armored left fist and smashed it against the guard of his enemy rook.

Unlike before, she actually went flying into a nearby tree with a loud scream, creating a big crack in the process. Not bothering to wait for her to stand up, he charged forward, almost becoming a blur like Yuuto was in his fight against the other knight, and reared back his left elbow back, before moving it downward on the enemy rook's body like a sword.

Issei barely twitched when the blood splattered on his shirt and the host of the dragon quickly turned around, calmly letting out a deep breath as the rook slowly slumped down the tree.

"A rook of Riser Phenex' peerage has retired."

He was a bit uncomfortable with the red fluid. No matter how often it happened, it was still disgusting.

"It shouldn't be. Being covered in the blood of your enemies is good!"

The pawn didn't even bother to deign the dragon's glee with an answer as he sighed.

Scratching his head in irritation, Issei's face grew more serious. "Boost still okay?"

"Since you didn't throw it out yet as magic, still contained for the next minute or so," Ddraig explained, sounding somewhat amused.

Hearing this, the pawn rolled his shoulder for a moment and switched between looking Koneko's fight and Yuuto's fight.

The swordsman was in the middle of showcasing his Sword Birth as he absorbed the flames of the other's sword by clashing with it by using an ice sword.

But for some reason he looked a bit mad. Was the enemy taunting him?

No, judging from the honest joy from her face, she probably said something that was a trigger of his.

Anyway, he was having the upper hand right now. Still, it looked like it could take a while.

Turning to Koneko, it was a complete stalemate he saw.

Ravel kept dodging the rocks thrown by the rook, but her flames couldn't hit the youkai in time due to the height she flew around. So nothing big would happen as far as Issei could see.

"Who needs more help?" He quietly muttered. On the one hand, he could try to help out Koneko in order to pressure the younger Phenex. On the other hand, helping Yuuto would accelerate the defeat of Carmine and would make it a three vs one against the immortal.

Sadly, the decision was taken from him. Feeling the presence of four more pieces closing in, he made sure that the forest was right behind him as he saw the approaching group with two cat girls, a zweihander wielder and a priestess.

"Why are you all here?" Ravel yelled in gratitude, before groaning when another rock flew against her.

By now, there were a lot of holes around Koneko, as she clicked her tongue in irritation.

"Our master decided on a one vs one against Gremory, so he sent us here to finish things up," one of the cat girls pointed to the rooftop and everyone turned to it. Issei's eyes widened.

Indeed there was his master, using her Power of Destruction to launch her spheres against Riser, who just took them head on, before a fire engulfed him to remove any damage. Then, he retaliated with his own inferno. Rias barely managed to dodge it and the slight burn she suffered got quickly healed by Asia at her side.

The first thought Issei had was to rush up there to help. But he quickly quenched it. Not only did Yuuto and Koneko need him here, but the pawn realized this was the perfect opportunity to get rid of almost all the other pieces, before grouping up to help her.

The biggest reason for him not to go up there immediately however was simple…

Rias Gremory was strong. And because of that, he had faith in her to stand up against Riser.

With Asia there to heal her wounds and her high class energy reserves...

She can hold out long enough until Issei and the others arrived.

The pawn took a calming breath because of it and focused on the opponents in front of him.

"Li, Ni, you aim for the Boosted Gear's legs! Siris, Mihae, help Carmine take out Sword Birth! I cover the rock thrower!" Ravel loudly ordered, lightly out of breath though, and the other pieces quickly split up.

While the other knight and the bishop approached Yuuto, who glared in frustration, Koneko was stopped from helping him by the younger sister of Riser, who summoned up a fire wall to cut her off.

Issei turned to the two girls slowly flanking him from two sides and he sighed.

Of course he would get the youkai. At least they didn't have senjutsu, as far as he could tell.

"Great, more cannon fodder," Issei said loudly on purpose as he shook his head. Still, he made sure to move backwards in order to keep both cats in his view, loosely holding up his fighting position.

"Cannon fodder, are we? Don't underestimate us!" The blue one snarled, but didn't rush in as she sometimes shared glances with her twin. Internally, Issei cursed. They wouldn't eat the bait that easily.

He had to step up his trash talk game then.

"Considering who your master is, that's not a possible request for me," he cheekily replied, before yelping when the two sisters dashed towards him, the red one throwing a punch to the face, while the blue one aimed for a low kick.

Quickly using his gauntlet and right leg to deflect the blows, Issei did what a sane person would do in being outnumbered.

Running away.

Okay, he didn't just turn around and ran, but he made sure not to stay at one spot. Swaying away from an attempted grab, then jumping back from a front kick. Block their fists with his own, before forcing them to back off with a wide swing of his left left, followed by another jump away. Mobility was his greatest weapon, especially hearing Ravel's order to cripple it, so he made sure to prevent exactly that.

Naturally, that pissed the two twin pawns off.

"Stay still!" The blue one grunted out when Issei dodged to the side after parrying her sister's fist in such a way, it almost hit the blue one in the stomach, if she hadn't blocked it in time.

In response, the host of Ddraig blew a raspberry at them.

"You aren't the first cats that are a pain in my ass, so why should I?!" Then he winced, before slightly turning his head to his rock throwing companion. "No offense, Koneko!"

"None...taken!" She yelled back, annoyance clear on her face when Ravel dodged yet another rock.

Quickly, he turned his attention back to the battle, but his small distraction was enough for them to get close again.

While Issei managed to raise his right leg in time to fully block the blue one's kick, the red one's kick landed on his left leg solidly.

Cursing in pain, Issei concentrated some power in his Sacred Gear, before punching into the ground to cause a slight shockwave to get some room.

Despite not doing any damage, the girls yelped as they got blown back a few meters, but the boy had bigger issues. He glanced at his left leg as he shook it a little to determine the damage.

It stung a bit, but it was still combat ready.

Okay, he had to get them riled up or he will suffer even more damn kicks. And the Sacred Gear user could feel his boost slowly leaving his body.

"You know, I really wonder what kind of low self esteem does Riser have to gather a bunch of girls just to feel good?" Issei exclaimed loudly with an exaggerating laughter.

The red one hissed, barring her teeth as she lowered her body, tensing up like a spring.

"How dare you-"

Much to his frustration however, the blue one put a hand on her sister, foiling Issei's genius plan.

"Don't listen to him! He is just taunting you!"

The twins took a deep breath, before giving him a stare of disgust, which made the Sacred Gear user flinch.

Okay, that didn't work at them. Maybe…?

Looking around for a moment, he realized that no one else actually listened to him. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Yuuto receiving a wide gash on his back, while trying to hold of two swordswomen and a bishop. To give him credit, that was the only visible wound Issei could spot.

Koneko on the other hand breathed heavily, while Ravel smirked openly when she threw more fire at the nekoshou.

Gritting his teeth, the future harem king decided to cross the line.

To question one man's manhood.

"I mean, there is not a single guy with him. I think he is hiding his true nature, if you know what I mean!" He smirked nervously when their expressions darkened.

Yet this time, they didn't even give him an answer, instead staying silent in determination to knock Issei's legs away. Which didn't happen, because the wielder of Boosted Gear, yet again, either dodged the blows by jumping away, or even stomping against the low kicks, in order to force them to either back off or take a kick against their leg.

Anyway, the future harem king clicked his tongue.

Taunting didn't work so much then. Which meant they wouldn't lose their temper and rush things, therefore dragging the time. Time he nor the peerage of Rias had.

Issei took a quick look at their surroundings.

A lot of bare land in the track field. Which meant a lot of dirt that can be whirled up. A plan formed in his mind and he took a deep breath in order to yell.

"Guys! Let's tidy this place up!"

The two just gave him a confused look in response, before trying to focus back on their fights with a lot of stress.

The pawn sweatdropped. Okay, maybe he should lead by example then.

In order to do that, he needed another boost. Due to their relationship, the dragon heard his thoughts immediately.

"One refresh, coming up!" Ddraig's voice then echoed from his vessel, making Issei grin slightly. "Boost!"

With a refresh of his doubled power, the host of the dragon burrowed his right foot into the ground. Then, with a grunt, he shot his leg upwards to create a small wave of dirt, directed at the cat twins who quickly cover their face.

Despite that action, they still spat out some sand out. Nevertheless, they weren't blinded since they could prepare for Issei's quick jabs. Still, the pawn had the advantage for the short moment, before backing off and repeating his action again. When he did that, he turned to his companions who observed what he did.

His companion's eyes widened in realization, quickly followed by a smirk. While Koneko rushed in and made a leg sweep over the ground to whirl up some sand as well, Yuuto swiftly created a new sword, this time a more curved one with a green ornament, before taking a big swing.

Shortly after that, a small hurricane was caused in the area. Issei could hear the sounds of how the dirt got into their eyes or how they spat the sand out of their mouth.

They were disoriented, unlike Koneko and him, who made sure to close their eyes and cover their mouth in time, while relying on their senjutsu senses to navigate through the chaos.

Quickly maneuvering through the small storm, the gauntlet wielder locked on the two enemy cat girls, who were too busy covering their eyes to notice him.

When he reached them, he simply grabbed their heads and smashed them together with all his doubled power.

Twice.

At the same time the two bodies fall, he could hear the cries of other girls.

Not one of them belonged to Koneko.

When the voices were silenced, the storm began to settle.

Only Rias' peerage was left standing, surrounded by the unmoving bodies of Riser's peerage, who slowly vanish into light.

"Riser Phenex' pawns, knights and bishop has retired."

Issei wiped some sweat of his forehead and dusted his body off a little. Then he turned to the others with heavy breath, seeing the other two similarly tired as him. Especially Yuuto, who actually had to bend over slightly as he tried to catch his breath.

They were exhausted. Yet they openly showed their happiness at their victory and grinned at each other.

Then they looked upwards.

Ravel Phenex was the only one left, flying in the air. Despite not having any wounds, she stared at the trio as if she was struck in the face, so pale was she.

The trio had the same thought run through their heads when they realized the fear she was in.

They could win this. It was no longer a hope like before the battle, but this time solid knowledge that they could do this.

What they heard next only solidified that impression.

A heavenly roar shook the earth and a bright light shortly shone from behind, before Grayfia's voice sounded through the area.

"The queen of Riser Phenex's peerage has retired."

With a smug expression, Issei turned back to Ravel, who was about as pale as a piece of paper. Because of that, he couldn't help but cross his arms while Koneko and Yuuto highfive each other.

"Guess you and your brother are the only-"

Just as he was about to finish his sentence however, another explosion vibrated the air.

This time it came from the rooftop nearby and everyone snapped their head in shock.

The following sentence from Grayfia made Ravel smirk while the trio's eyes widened.

"A bishop of Rias Gremory's peerage has retired."

In an instant, the pawn's face grew furious and was about to hurry up the stairs to rip the fried chicken apart.

If Ddraig's voice didn't drown out his thoughts in a grim tone.

"Issei, calm down. A hot head is a bad one."

The pawn struggled for a moment with himself, fists shaking, but he managed to take a calming breath.

Mentally, he thanked his partner for the advice.

Ironically, the advice was coming from a dragon, but both of them ignored it.

Still, one short glance towards Yuuto and Koneko were enough to know that they thought the same.

Riser stopped playing around and Rias didn't have Asia to heal her wounds.

They had to get up there, _now_.

With the speed of the knight and of Boosted Gear's boosts, Yuuto and Issei were the first to dash towards the stairs.

"Watch out!"

The uncharacteristic panicked shout of Koneko made the two men stop in their tracks almost immediately.

Right on time as well, as a flame even stronger than the one on the rooftop cut into their path. Issei could the sweat on his skin evaporate from the sheer heat and he grit his teeth as he looked to the culprit.

"Do you really think I would let you pass like that?" Ravel Phenex asked calmly, her hands still sizzling from the fire she shot out. But it was her expression that caught the pawn's attention and made him tense up.

Only a fraction of her worries were left in her face. Instead, there was only a cold, calculating look.

The girl wasn't treating this like a game anymore. Issei clicked his tongue. Now she was a serious opponent. A small part of him hoped that she would be sandbagging a little more.

But apparently, the live audience and pressure was forcing her to put up a better show.

If she would have been serious from the get go, bombarding them before they could pull off the strategy, they would have been long gone. That she didn't do so, made the host of Ddraig feel a bit thankful to her.

A bit.

Because of that, he would not sheathe his sass as he crossed his arms with a flat stare.

"You did let us beat up your comrades while doing nothing but coaching and avoiding rocks."

Immediately, her calm demeanor got replaced by blushing and she averted her gaze as she was spluterring.

"Hmph, I-I may have underestimated you! But don't misunderstand, I'm still enough to defeat you all by myself!"

"Definitely a tsundere," Issei said in a wise tone, nodding to himself with closed eyes as if he made a great revelation.

"Not the time, buddy."

Hearing Ddraig's dry tone, Issei shook his head and assumed his fighting stance again, with Yuuto summoning up his Flame Eraser in a Kendo Stance.

"Right. We gotta finish her quickly!"

After his exclamation, the pawn was about to aim with Boosted Gear at the flying Phenex, who herself was about to swing her arm for a wide flame.

Suddenly however, Issei felt a surge of power behind him and he snapped his head to his back, just as Yuuto did.

Koneko hunched over, her arms hanging around completely slack as her eyes became slits focused on Ravel while her hands formed claws and her knees bended slightly.

Almost like a beast ready to pounce on their prey. It was a stance that reminded him of many other youkai that discarded humane methods of combat.

What stood out the most however, was the raw, visible energy surrounding her, making her hair, tail and skirt float slightly.

"No," the nekoshou growled slightly and Issei could hear the wild edge in her tone. "I'll handle the small chicken. I'm a light eater anyway."

The wielder of Sword Birth moved forward to object, but the pawn extended his arm to stop him. At his questioning look, Issei shook his head and gestured with it towards the rooftop, that was already filled with loud explosions. Following his gaze, Yuuto closed his eyes in frustration, before nodding as well.

The gauntlet wielder couldn't blame him. His first thought was to help Koneko as well, considering that she had a bad time with Ravel beforehand.

Before, he realized however, she conserved her strength for other threats like the other pieces on the field, Riser or Yubelluna.

With only Riser left, Koneko was willing to use up all her energy for this one opponent. Issei had to respect that and make use of it to bring victory to Rias.

Obviously, Ravel did not have the same respect as she huffed and crossed her arms as a sneer appeared on her face.

"Watch your tone, you furball." She shook her head in pity and waved her hand. "You couldn't touch me before, what makes you think you can do it now?"

"I just have to try harder."

Right after her blank sentence, she snapped her right wrist towards the flying opponent and a bright energy ball raced towards Ravel.

The latter only had time to widen her eyes, before she tried to move her body away from the school building to dodge the blast. However, it still brushed against a good portion of her left arm.

Issei was impressed that the regenerator managed to suppress her instincts caused by her family trait and actually bothered to dodge. Either that or Riser was a bad example of the Phenex family.

Anyway, Ravel bit her lips as she suppressed a scream of pain and stared at the injured spot. Her eyes widened when instead of a bright, quick burst of fire, only a slow steaming healed her wound.

That's when everyone in the area realized one thing.

Senjutsu was working against the Phenex trait of regeneration. Koneko could actually beat her.

With this simple fact in front of them, Yuuto and Issei turned around towards the stairs, fully knowing that their backs were in safe hands.

Nevertheless, Issei hesitated for a moment while the knight already dashed up the stairs. Then he turned his head around and raised his thumb towards the rook.

"Good luck!"

With these words, the pawn ran with the knight up the stairs to support their master. Still, a small part of Issei worried about Koneko a little.

/

While carefully observing her opponent in the air, the nekoshou smiled slightly at Issei's gesture. It wasn't needed, but she appreciated it anyway.

Lately, Koneko appreciated a lot from the pawn. Which made her reevaluate her opinion on her.

He...wasn't as bad as she thought he would be. To be honest, Issei Hyoudou was someone she could say she...liked.

The pervert was someone who would do anything for his friends. He was someone who would challenge even beings stronger than him if they threaten what he held dear.

He was someone who actively helped her and accepted her.

Issei Hyoudou was a good guy.

Not to mention that he had a nice body as well. The youkai could feel first hand how his muscles felt when he embraced her and got her out of the danger zone that was the gym before it blew up.

Since he was a good fighter as well, it would mean he had good genes as well.

Koneko blinked and blushed slightly. Where did that come from?

She blamed it on her cat side and moved on.

Anyway, his little encouragement was rather sweet. But also a bit insulting, Koneko thought with a slight frown.

The junior didn't have enough faith in his senior apparently. Maybe she wasn't hard enough on him during their training.

An issue she had to fix after this battle.

"No luck." She cracked her neck and a feral grin appeared on her face as the nature energy around her became more sharp and focused, her ears twitching in excitement. "Skill."

Koneko tried to ignore the small warm feeling in her chest from his words as she poised herself to shoot another nature energy ball at her enemy.


	8. Through the fire and flames III

It only took a few moments at most, but Issei felt like the flight of stairs was endless as he and Yuuto ran towards the rooftop to help Rias against Riser.

Nevertheless, the two of them pressed on, with the safe knowledge that their back was covered by Koneko.

On their way to the final battle, Issei quickly promoted to knight. Yuuto questioned why he didn't promote into a queen, but the host of Ddraig shook his head at the time.

A queen promotion would take too much of a tool on his body. Besides, what he needed was speed in order to dodge Riser's attacks. In terms of endurance, Riser would clearly win a slug fest. For a chance of victory, Issei had to completely focus on dodging, while barraging the fried chicken with attacks until the damn regenerator would run out of juice.

Yuuto accepted his explanation back then and the two of them hurried up the stairs, not planning to take another break.

Still, they stopped for a short moment because a loud explosion rocked the building and they had to regain their footing as they leaned against the wall for stability. After a quick glance at each other, the two of them slowly moved up to the door that was lightening up the staircase.

Distantly, they could hear the exhausted, but clearly taunting voice of their master.

"...words anymore? So scared that you had to take out my healer?"

Carefully peaking through the entrance, the sight made Issei clench his teeth.

His master's grin was clearly forced, pain slowly seeping into her expression as her left arm was hanging limb next to her, severe burns covering it. The female king also favored her right leg as well as she wobbled a little while standing, so the pawn assumed that her other leg got nicked as well from the fire.

If it wouldn't be for the injuries, Issei would appreciate her somewhat exposed body. But all he felt instead was anger.

The clear scorched mark not far behind Rias did not help to calm him down at all.

Yuuto shared the same feeling, as he switched his swords into the anti wind and fire forms with a dark expression.

"Focus that rage, partner. Make it into the claw that will pluck these chicken's wings out."

Hearing Ddraig, Issei took a deep breath and slowly unclenched his armored hand. Then he looked over to Yuuto on the other side of the door frame and shook his head when they made eye contact.

Not yet.

Receiving his mental message, the knight frowned slightly, but still tried to relax as well when he realized what Issei's reason was.

Glad at his patience, the host of Ddraig looked at his gauntlet.

Quietly, Boosted Gear powered him up.

Issei wasn't naive enough to think that his basic abilities would be sufficient to beat this enemy.

Anyway, while he was charging up, the two of them quietly continued to survey the situation.

Riser, looking very unharmed, crossed his arms and sneered at Rias.

"Hmph, don't be so arrogant. I got tired from your futile resistance and decided to speed the inevitable up."

Despite the usual haughty tone, the wielder of Boosted Gear could tell that there was something off in his voice. A moment later, the pawn grinned slightly.

He was bluffing.

For the first time, Issei saw that Riser Phenex was nervous.

Who could blame him though? All of his pieces, except his sister, were gone already. On contrary, Rias only lost Asia and that was only caused by his own hand.

He was alone and only now did the man realize it.

To be honest, this knowledge made the newly reincarnated devil grin widely.

Suited him just right, feeling fear!

Still, after finishing that thought, Issei decided that they waited enough. Nodding grimly to his companion, Issei moved with him in synchronicity.

With five stacks, it would be strong enough to at least make the fried chicken stagger.

As they jumped out of their cover and jump brandished their weapons. Rias' eyes widened and she rolled away, making Riser turn around in confusion. That confusion turned to shock at the two servants of Rias and he moved his arm to ignite them.

But it was too late.

"Dragon Shot!"

"Flame Delete!"

The cooling sword weakened the powerful flame immensely, enough so that the energy ball, five times the size of his head blasted through the pure blooded devil's body, leaving a wide open space to leap through for as the attack flew off into the horizon. Luckily it didn't hit their master or Issei would have been the worst servant in the existence of devils.

Anyway, the knight and the pawn rolled on the ground after jumping through the space that was created by the draconic attack. However, by the time they turned around and assumed their combat stances again, the upper body of Riser already almost finished regenerating.

So unfair, Issei thought. Still, no time to complain, so he turned to his master with worry.

"Prez, you alright?"

"Considering the circumstances, fine," Rias said in an exhausted tone before hissing in pain as she reflexively rubbed her bad leg. The sight only made his anger bubble up a bit more.

But before any of them can say anything more, they could hear the arrogant chuckle of Riser when the flames vanished from his body, a sneer directed at his fellow king.

"More insects to let me burn, Rias? My, I almost suspect that you like sacrificing your pieces because of your own weakness!"

"How dare-" Rias bristled up, but Issei raised his arm to stop her from doing anything reckless.

"Prez, don't listen to him!" He hit his hand with his gauntlet and cracked his neck. "Let's just kick his ass and be done with it."

At first, she stared at him with wide eyes. Then she turned to Yuuto who raised his thumb with a grin. Taking a deep breath, she smiled.

"You're right." She stood up, despite the pain and raised her healthy arm to charge up her Power of Destruction. While charging up, she barked out her orders with full authority."Yuuto, cover me and Issei! Issei, handle the front! I support you from the back!"

"Got it!"

"Understood!"

With that, Issei ran forward to meet Riser in close combat. Said fried chicken just scoffed at him and swung his left arm to intercept him with a wide blaze of fire.

At least he would have, if not for Flame Delete blade to spawn from the ground to weaken it. Because of that, the pawn could close the distance sock the bastard in the face. Of course Issei had to suppress his instinct to finish his swing, as he already felt how the resistance against his punch pretty much disappeared when Riser's head started to give away as it got replaced by flames.

Luckily, he managed to bring back his fist without losing his balance, so the pyrokinetic's casual right counter punch did not hit as Issei swayed to the left.

Before Riser could pull back his other fist, a ball of destruction landed solidly on it, erasing it from existence until he could regenerate it.

Snarling, he started up another flame in his still existent hand and was about to back hand Issei with a very hot flame, but instead of his face, it hit the cooling blade of Flame Delete.

It went on exactly like this. Issei would keep up the momentum with the speed of a knight, powered up by his boosts that began to pile up even more on him. Using his agility, the wielder of Boosted Gear quickly circled and weaved around Riser, while jabbing his gauntlet into the Phenex' body.

If Riser would try to counter attack, either Rias or Yuuto covered Issei with their special abilities.

Because of all that, the pawn managed to cause good damage against Riser while remaining unharmed.

But it was not that easy either. With every single blow the pawn got in, Riser got better and better at anticipating the attacks and blocks of his opponents. His fists were getting to close to his liking and Issei couldn't just boost into infinity to avoid it.

On top of that, the flames became stronger and stronger, so Yuuto's counter sword began to be overpowered by the fire.

Still, the pawn was confident they could win this. Despite Riser's growth in the battle, they still had the advantage. They could drain his energy first before they ran out of their own energy.

After what felt an eternity of the same thing happening over and over again however, there was a deviation from the plan.

Rias' knight left his position and used his boosted speed to flank Riser, while pulling out a familiar bottle.

Issei's eyes widened and quickly back away from the danger zone. At first, the pyrokinetic looked confused, but then frowned and took to the sky, just when Yuuto threw the battle with all his might.

The wielder of Sword Birth clicked his tongue in irritation, mirroring Issei as well.

"Holy Water?! Did you grow that desperate for victory, Rias?!" Rias shouted in fury, after taking a small, disgusted look at the remains on the ground and evaporated it in response.

"Apologies. I should have been more patient," Yuuto muttered as he carefully eyed the man in the sky, but Issei just pat him on the back with a grim look.

"Can't cry over spilled water, so let's beat him up in the old fashioned way!"

Still, this was suboptimal.

Besides Rias, who was not 100 percent combat ready, none of them were well verse in aerial combat.

Because of that, Riser could peacefully take peashots at them with flaming orbs.

Yuuto quickly dashed to their master and carried her away into safety, while Issei himself focused on dodging and thinking for a plan simultaneously.

Dragon Shot was out. If his sister was any indication, if the attack wasn't at least over knight speed itself, there was no way it was going to hit him. With that in mind, throwing holy water wouldn't help either. Flying up there was wishing for a beatdown. Issei didn't relearn any other technique yet and experimentation on the battlefield was an act of desperation, not genius.

Issei bit his lip as he leaped to the side before another fireball burned into his face.

Rias herself was busy trying to retaliate against the rain of fire with her own orbs, but already Issei could see how they were losing power. Yuuto on the other hand was too busy carrying their master and avoiding the flames to do anything else. Even if he had his hands free, Issei doubted that the knight at anything that could bring Riser back to the ground that easily.

Luckily, the pawn did not need to wrack his brain any longer, when a bright light crashed into Riser.

As he grunted visibly in pain as the thunder crashed him into the ground, the Priestess of Thunder came into view. She was clearly out of breath and her clothes had several burned holes, but her smile showed that she could still throw some good magic down.

Even if it was way weaker than the bright flash that finished the Bomb Queen.

Still, Issei didn't count on her mobility. Despite being on the ground, he could see how she was struggling a bit to stay in the air.

More the reason to finish this quickly.

"Akeno. Glad you could make it," Rias said with a weak smile when Yuuto let her gently down to the ground.

Her queen in response giggled darkly as she kept her eyes on the smoking spot where Riser landed.

"The Bomb Queen was a little tough. I couldn't stop her from using her Phoenix Tear. If I didn't prepare for it, she might have beaten me. I had to resort to the secret weapon though." She huffed in amusement as she rubbed her cheek. For some reason, she was blushing. "Almost burned myself. Mr. Noir's stuff is very, very potent."

Issei was pretty sure that Sid would curse them right now for calling him Mr. Noir again. Because of that, he snickered a little, while ignoring the confused stares he got from his master and the knight.

The amusement quickly faded however when they heard a very deep growl. That growl is quickly followed by a burst of fire, literally burning the smoke away.

Suffice to say, Riser was pissed.

But then, he took a deep breath and a blank expression appeared on his face as Riser turned to Rias, then up to Akeno, then back to the ground forces.

"You are better than I expected. You still won't beat me," the pimp said calmly and as he crossed his arms.

Issei's master on the other hand risked a smirk at her opponent.

"Really, Riser? We have superior numbers. It's four fighters against one-"

Riser's arm snapped forward and a bright, red magic circle spawned underneath Yuuto. The latter only had time to widen his eyes before it blew him up with immense, chaotic power.

Prez' mouth was still wide open, same as the rest of her peerage, as they saw how the knight of Rias' peerage fell down with a thud, before disappearing in a light.

"The knight of Rias Gremory's peerage has retired."

The smug expression of Riser didn't trigger any rage in Issei, as he was busy to process what just happened.

He just used magic.

Riser Phenex, who only relied on his natural abilities, decided to use other methods to defeat his opponents.

"You seem to under the impression I actually went all out against you. But no more," the pyrokinetic said, cracking his neck with a lazy expression.

Then he glanced up to Akeno, before he moved in high speeds.

"You are an actual threat to me. For that, I shall pay you my respect..." His eyes snapped wide open and a fist barely missed Akeno's face as she dodged with growing panic. "I will show you the true might of a king!"

That's when Riser backed up his words.

When Akeno tried to widen the distance between them, Riser quickly closed it. The queen in response threw a thunder at his face, but the king ignored the blast and pushed on without care.

Now in range, the Phenex rammed his fist into her side.

Despite her elbow block, Akeno winced. But there would be no rest.

Immediately, Riser followed up with a left haymaker against her head, then threw an uppercut with the other hand, before he kicked against her left leg with full force.

The blocks of the priestess were not enough, as her guard became more and more shaky.

Because of that, it got broken wide open when Riser summoned up another blaze in his hand and shot it out like a gun against her gut.

As she flew back, blood and pain rising from her mouth, Issei couldn't do anything but gape helplessly when realization settled in.

These weren't lazy, uncoordinated attacks. They had focus, speed, power.

All elements used to beat an opponent quickly, instead of playing around. And judging from Akeno's exhaustion and injuries, it was not a mystery who would come out of top.

And despite the beatdown, there was not a single taunt from the young heir.

This wasn't the douche fried chicken who was confident to easily win this little game.

This was someone who wanted to win at all costs, who wanted to attain victory in this battle.

And his eyes were sharp, devoid from any arrogance. Instead, there was only focus, cool calculating eyes.

Like a focused flame, instead of the inferno from before.

The sight of his senior getting beaten up like that filled Issei with anger. Yet, he knew, that there wasn't much he could do.

Rias on the other hand was even more enraged than Issei and because of that didn't think about the reality of hitting him.

With a scream of fury, she desperately aimed at Riser's back and shot out her Power of Destruction.

Issei assumed it was one of her last good shots, judging from her pale skin.

Still, it would be for naught.

Already, Issei could see how the Phenex began to react to the attack and the pawn put all of his effort in shouting out a warning to his senior in the air.

"Vice prez, look out!"

"Too late."

With those cold words, Riser punched Akeno in the face, leaving her dazed, before swiftly flying behind her and kick her against the Power of Destruction.

Rias and Issei could only watch in despair when the king's attack hit her own queen.

She didn't even scream.

"Rias Gremory's queen has retired."

The announcement was like a death sentence to Rias, who crumbled down to her knees as her lips quivered in despair while she eyed the spot where she hit her own queen.

Because of that, only her pawn reacted and hurried in front of his master, combat ready, when Riser turned his eyes to the people on the ground with pity.

"You're next, pawn." He glanced to Rias and afforded a small smirk. "Or do you surrender, my fiancee?"

Issei bristled up, but stopped when he heard his prez' voice, barely a whisper.

"I...I-"

When he turned his head, he could see it in her eyes.

The fire that burned at the start of the game was almost gone.

Almost.

Issei would not let that ember die out.

"Prez, don't you dare give up now!" His shout startled both kings, but he didn't relent as he completely turned to his king and spread his arms open in agitation. "Don't waste all of our efforts! See this to the very end! We believe in you, all of us! Now you gotta believe in us! In me!"

Then, he glared upwards to the enemy and took a step forward while rolling his shoulder.

"Wait, what are you-"

"What do you think?" Issei hit his own chest lightly with a grin after turning around again for a short moment. "I promised to win for you, and in order to do that, I gotta get up there."

For a moment, Rias blinked at him, before averting her eyes in shame. But the female king quickly slapped her own cheeks and shook her head, before staring into Issei's eyes before nodding.

The fire was back.

The pawn grinned again and raised his thumb, before turning around again.

His smile fell slightly.

Issei had no real hopes to win this.

But he also never had any real hopes to survive Kyoto.

Miracles only happened when one worked towards it. Because of that, Issei bravely strode forward and raised Boosted Gear in front of his face.

"Ddraig, it's time to take some risks," the Sacred Gear user muttered with a frown as he eyed the flying and waiting form of his enemy.

"Got it." Ddraig's determined tone quickly got replaced by the same, echoing announcing sound. "Wings, on!"

The moment the words were shouted, the green jewel lightened up momentarily, before the gauntlet began to extend its form to Issei's back shoulders in rapid speed.

Seconds later, a pair of red, mechanical wings extended from Boosted Gear and unfurled with the mere thought from Issei.

Chuckling slightly at the surprised expressions of the present kings, the pawn let out a deep breath as he flapped the wings a few times.

Now he could take it up there.

"Issei!" Before the reincarnated devil could fly up, he turned to the voice of his master in confusion. Said master looked at him with a calculating frown. "Don't worry about his magic. It isn't his specialty. It's pretty prude work actually."

"It still managed to get Yuuto," Issei said while raising his eyebrow in skepticism. But Rias shook her head before glaring up to the sky.

"Only because we didn't expect it. It was a bad, fast magic circle, one a good magician can defend against with ease." Then she turned back to Issei and sent him a small smile. "Good luck."

With determination, the pawn nodded in gratitude for his master's words and flew up. It was good that he managed to get Rias out of her little funk.

Her blush did confuse him a little. Maybe she was more exhausted than he thought?

The condescending snort of Ddraig in his head did not make it easier to understand.

Questions for later.

Reaching the same height as Riser, who stared at him with a neutral expression and crossed arms, Issei pointed with his armored finger at the enemy king with barred teeth.

"Time to kick your ass, you jackass."

Riser chuckled at his quiet snarl and opened up his arms.

"You dare challenge me in aerial combat?" Then, he put up his arms in a boxing position and glared at the pawn with a serious frown. "Very well, bring it!"

"Boost!"

With his boosts back up to five, the two of them began their move.

Both reeled their left arms back and the next moment, their fists loudly clashed with each other. Moments later, Riser's arm is thrown back and Issei used the momentum gained from winning the clash to spin around and smash his right heel into Riser.

The latter managed to bring up his other arm, but the force smashed him a considerable distance downwards.

Issei began to descent quickly, but had to stop and roll out of the way when a burst of fire came at his way.

When the pawn stabilized his position again, he had to raise his arms in a cross guard when Riser threw a fire enhanced fist against it.

The flame seared against his gauntlet and Issei grit his teeth in agony when the heat began to burn his hand underneath.

With a grunt, the Sacred Gear user forced his arms to open, force Riser off balance and blurred in motion behind the king before throwing another left straight powerful enough to blow his head off.

Much to Issei's surprise however, despite the lack of vision, the Phenex let out a burst of his pyrokinetic abilities, covering Issei's entire body with it.

Even with his boosted guard up, it took a lot from him not to fall down to the ground in mind numbing pain.

Still, when Riser's head came back, Issei kicked him in the side hard enough that the air was moving out of his leg's way. While Riser spat out some spit and groaned in pain, the pawn didn't stop and kept attacking.

Uppercut to chin with right hand, duck to the side, deflect fire blast by backhanding the arm away with gauntlet, right low kick to the right, take punch to the right cheek on before performing a head slip. Suppress pain from burn, headbutt to the face, armored elbow down the right shoulder, break off hand grip on right biceps before burned to a crisp, circling around while checking damage. Moderate damage, still useable. Grasping his chin from behind and drilling his knee into Riser's back, then back away with guard on when another wild fire blast was fired.

Before the flames even settled, Issei moved back in and met him head on again.

An experienced viewer would think that the pawn was wrecking Riser.

But Issei knew better.

He was overwhelming the king, but he wasn't winning.

Despite the fact that Issei was about thirty two times stronger than before, it wouldn't really matter in the long run. He could only deal a set amount of damage against Riser, before letting him regenerate in order to deal the same damage again.

Punching his head off with twenty times normal power or thirty times normal power would result in the same event of him losing his head.

On top of that, he was on a timer. While not using magic extended his boost duration, it would still eventually run out and with that, his defense and speed advantage.

He also couldn't use holy water to gain an advantage. Riser probably already deduced that he still had his secret weapon and he couldn't pull it out in the middle of combat, not while he was still on guard.

Not to mention he was very out of practice in flying. The dragon wings felt more comfortable, yes, but Issei held no delusion that he could do anything complex with them like experienced jet fighters could.

Factoring all of this in, it was no surprise that by the time his jewel began to blink rapidly, Riser was very out of breath, yes, but nowhere to the point where his regeneration would fail him.

Meanwhile, Issei could feel the burning pain in his body, as the boosted power tried to leave him, his breath ragged as hell.

"Partner, you gotta go on cooldown!"

Though he agreed with Ddraig's worried warning, Issei hesitated to let the power go and rubbed his eyes when his vision began to become fuzzy.

He could increase the timer by adding another boost on top of his current stack, giving him more speed and defense, that could give him the edge to drain Riser even more.

If he went over the number of boosts he had right now however, he would be spitting out his own blood very quick. Issei had to ration the Boosts out.

The problem was, that by rationing out his boosts, there would be a small time window in between where his body would be at his default state.

A state that Riser can easily wreck in mid battle.

It was a lose-lose situation for him.

He had to regroup in order to rest or-

"Issei, dodge!"

Rias's desperate tone quickly shook him out of his musing and his body instinctively moved to the left.

But it was too late.

Mental exhaustion finally caught up to him and it punished him severely. The foreboding feeling of doom didn't reach his brain in time.

Because of that, the blistering pain of fire engulfed his entire right leg and for the first time in the battle, Issei screamed.

In moments, the pawn tumbled from the sky and crashed to the ground. Pain controlled his entire body, as the boosts finally left him and Issei helplessly stared at his charred leg with tears in eyes as he tried his very best to not reflexively touch them.

Rias flew towards him in clear worry and rested her hands on his leg. The momentary shock of pain quickly got replaced by a soothing dampening. It didn't remove it completely and Issei could see that it barely healed him, but it reduced the pain from crippling to very inconvenient.

The pawn glared up to the sky and saw how Riser slowly descended, his familiar, smug grin on his face.

If Issei wouldn't be so injured, he would be angry that despite his words, the Phenex would get back into casual mode.

But in pure logic, it was easy to see why he was casual.

There were no healthy fighters in front of him and his healing factor was still working just fine.

"Ddraig, please tell me my leg isn't completely fucked," Issei muttered to his gauntlet.

"Well, you still have it," the dragon replied in a chuckle.

A pitying, awkward chuckle.

"Thanks," the pawn whispered dryly as he turned to his master. The sight made him weakly glare at Riser.

Doubt crept back into her eyes and this time, the Sacred Gear user could feel it dwell up in himself as well.

With his body so damaged, Issei couldn't keep the dark thought out.

They were going to lose.

/

She was going to lose.

Koneko quickly summoned up senjutsu to cover her hands and caught the incoming fireball. Gritting her teeth, it didn't remain long in her hands before throwing them aside.

Immediately, she stomped on the ruined ground again and kicked a few stones against Ravel. The latter dodged them in frustration and clicked her tongue when one stone nicked her cheek. A sizzle later and the small wound was gone.

The nekoshoud snarled in anger as she tried to calm her breath.

This had been going on ever since Issei and Yuuto ran up to support Rias.

She threw a projectile, rock or senjutsu blast and the small chicken would dodge them nine out of ten times. If something hit, it was not enough damage that she could regenerate from, sage art or not.

If Koneko was faster, then it would work. Sadly, she was a rook, not a knight.

Speaking of the knight, hearing that Yuuto got defeated made it hard for the nekoshou to keep a cool head. Still, even with the cool head, Koneko finally had to admit to herself that the "throw something at her and hit her" approach did not work.

It was exhausting her faster than she did damage and then the Phenex siblings would team up on her team. Her family.

So, in the slight break she got, Koneko started to wrack her brain harder than ever and assessed the situation.

The damn bird was flying too much for her taste. That was her main problem.

If the two of them were simple animals, Koneko would rely on stealth and patience to get the chicken.

Sadly, there was something that resembled a human brain in Ravel Phenex' head. Despite the casual attitude at the start of the Rating Game, now she was extra careful to stay out of Koneko's range.

Therefore, the youkai had to think of something.

Flying was out. She was no good at air combat and it would make her full with openings.

Waiting for the bishop to come down would be as likely to happen as Asia becoming like Akeno. And Koneko doubted that taunting would do anything.

If she trained better, she could have used the nature manipulating properties of the sage arts to rapidly grow plants and fauna to box the little princess in or at least cut off the escape paths.

But she didn't have the skill for it. The crash course with Obsidian only made her confident enough to shoot off the energy blasts or cover her own skin with it.

Her eyes widened. One sentence from said crash course sounded in her mind faintly.

"You are half cat. Do what a cat does best. Instincts and being unpredictable as fuck."

Frowning slightly at the language used, Koneko decided to follow that line of thought.

Instincts and being unpredictable. That meant thinking outside the box devils and rooks tended to think. Her instincts were telling her to rush against the bird and rip her apart.

Obviously she couldn't do just that, but it was a start.

Slowly, a plan formed in her head and Koneko's mouth corners twitched.

When she jumped out of the way of yet another fire blaze, she burrowed her hands into the ground. Gritting her teeth and with her veins ready to burst from the effort, she threw up her arms with a snarl, hurling most of the ground against Ravel.

Immediately after the two square meter piece of earth with all its dirt on it was in the air, Koneko ran towards the wall of the school building and quickly climbed it up.

Then, we she reached the second floor, Koneko turned around with a glare, eyes on Ravel's back, before she kicked off the wall and leaped towards the Phenex.

"And again, you throw another damn-"

Before she could finish her sentence however, Koneko folded her hands, concentrated nature energy in them and smashed them into Ravel's back like a hammer.

The Phenex crashed through the melted gap she created in the rock and rocketed towards the earth. The youkai allowed herself a grin.

Developing the wrong habits in mid combat was the worst thing a fighter could experience. And Koneko counted on it.

Unpredictable meant doing something the enemy wouldn't expect her to do.

Like using the same attack as before as a distraction and then using speed and agility to get up there. Something a rook usually didn't do.

But something a cat would do. A cat with her instincts.

To be honest, Koneko was surprised it worked that well.

Now to keep her down.

Using her descending speed, the nekoshou accelerated to the ground with her elbow aimed for the back of Ravel, who was writhing in pain on the ground.

But before it reached her opponent, Ravel quickly rolled out of the way. Quickly, Koneko stood up and threw a powerful straight at the female heir.

Much to the cat's surprise however, Ravel deflected the strike with her left arm before burrowing her right palm into her stomach.

Only her rook toughness didn't make Koneko keel over in pain from the force and heat of the flame in that very palm.

"Did you think I don't know how to fight up and personal?!" The Phenex exclaimed as she spat out some blood once some distance was created between them. The nekoshou snarled in response and slid over the ground to smash her fist into the pure blooded devil's face.

Taking the hit however, Ravel used the momentum created by the punch and spun around to shoot her elbow into Koneko's head, while the latter was off balance.

Gritting her teeth, the rook bore the pain and swiped her leg against Ravel's legs as she tumbled over. The two quickly rose from the ground and resumed their combat stances. Koneko in her grappling, street fight stance and Ravel in her open palmed one, her right hand wide in the front while the other one was near her head.

During the little break they got, the nekoshou assessed the situation with a frown.

She was an amateur compared to Koneko, at least in terms of experience. The nekoshou didn't use a lot of complicated martial arts and focused on powerful strikes and throws, but Koneko was still more skilled than someone who relied on magic a lot more than she did.

Still, the fact that Ravel was using more advanced martial arts than the rook was tough.

If one included high speed regeneration to the formula however, Koneko's situation got worse.

While the damage was building up on her body, Ravel did not have the same problem. At least not in the same rate Magical resources, mental stamina, yes, but no physical damage. If her arm got burned, Koneko wouldn't be able to use it, while for Ravel, it would only be a minor inconvenience.

If the nekoshou trained harder in senjutsu, she could heal herself theoretically. But it was too risky to even consider to use willy nilly in battle.

At least the sage arts dealt some good damage, so Koneko was not sure how this would go. Because of that, she decided to risk it and stick to one simple plan.

Keep attacking.

With that in mind, the two of them moved at the same time and began to pummel each other.

To summarize, it was a slugfest.

Every punch retaliated against another punch, every kick was met with another kick, every hit was paid back in one way or another.

Her body began to go numb and her vision got a little blurry when another palm shot her head up, but instead of letting her body fall, Koneko repaid the pain by smashing her forehead into Ravel's face.

By now, the two of them were more similar to animals than civilized devils. Their clothes were ripped and dirtied beyond recognition, their mouth's bleeding and their breaths ragged as their attacks, physical and magical, nature energy and fire got weaker and weaker.  
But Koneko did not care.

She already decided, but this was going to be her last fight. The fight where she would give everything to beat her opponent.

Even if it meant getting kicked out of the game itself.

The two of them punched each other in the face at the same time, using their exotic energy respectively and both staggered backwards from the attack while hissing in pain.

The nekoshou had to admit, the baby chicken was tougher than expected. The youkai tiredly raised her guard again, rather sloppily like Ravel, and began to move rather slowly towards her, just as she moved.

But as Koneko saved up all her energy for another fist fight, Grayfia's voice toned through the area again.

"Rias Gremory's queen has retired."

The nekoshou's head snapped up to the rooftop, uncaring for the pain caused by the sudden speed and she could see the falling body of Akeno disappear in a light.

Issei and Rias had to defeat Riser alone, Koneko realized. She had to finish this quickly. Determination lit up again in her mind, the nekoshou summoned up her last reserves as she turned back to her opponent.

Her eyes widened at what she saw.

The small distraction, barely two seconds, was enough to give Ravel enough time to bring something out of her pocket.

A small vial, with a transparent fluid in it, rested in her right hand.

A Phoenix Tear.

It would undo all of Koneko's efforts and would doom the rest of her peerage.

It would doom her master. Her friend.

The mere thought filled her with rage. And she used that very rage to fuel her body.

Using a burst of speed that lightened up her body in a blaze of pain, the nekoshou entered Ravel's range and punched the Phenex' right hand. Flinching in pain, the smaller bird hand's flew up and loosened its grip on the tear.

Having the healing potion knocked up into the air, Koneko turned back to Ravel. And it took a lot out of her not to curse out loud and waste her own breath.

In the small time window the nekoshou focused on throwing the bottle away, the enemy bishop concentrated a gigantic flame in her other hand. That's when the youkai realized what the vial was with frustration.

A distraction.

The weak, but smug smile of Ravel at her reaction only fueled Koneko's determination as she summoned up her last energy to create a similarly big ball of nature energy in her right hand.

She had to take Ravel down. Even if Koneko herself would be the prize.

As if boosted by that thought, her hand moved in higher speeds than her opponents.

It would make it in time to intercept.

Despite knowing the result of the incoming clash, the nekoshou smiled.

She did her part. Now it was up to her king and the pervert to win this. To make something of her two gifts.

The two attacks, fire and nature touched each other.

Then there was only light.

/

It said a lot about Issei's life that the fiery, nature energy feeling explosion only felt like another part of his daily life.

Still, he flinched from the sudden occurrence and instinctively covered his master with his own body from the rain of dirt and small rocks falling down.

"A rook of Rias Gremory's peerage and a bishop of Riser Phenex' peerage have retired."

Issei gritted his teeth. It was only a faint hope, but having Koneko against Riser would have helped immensely. As he distanced himself from Rias, he closed his eyes in regret.

If only he trained harder and didn't procrastinate his training in those two years.

"Don't go there. Focus on the present. This isn't over yet," the dragon said in a gruff tone, having recovered from the shock that his host's leg was burned to a crisp.

Ddraig was right. Shaking his head, the pawn took a deep breath.

A small part of him wondered about the weird, metallic like clunk sound, but he had more important stuff to care for than the reasons of debris sounding weird. Koneko was gone now and it would demoralize her.

He opened his mouth when he looked at her face, but then closed it again when he blinked in confusion.

The fire was still there, as she glared up at Riser, a scheming expression on her face.

Rias didn't give up yet. Despite hearing that another member of her peerage got retired, she still had faith in him.

Issei grinned weakly. He better responded in kind then, by finding a way out of this mess.

First, he observed the situation.

Body was damaged severely to the point that his mobility was down. Wings would only drain his energy even more, so that was out too. With no means of agility, a head on fight was suicide.

Riser was relatively healthy with medium exhastion, while Rias had her own exhaustion and injuries.

He had a bottle of holy water left and...

Boosted Gear.  
A literal cheat device if used correctly, quoting Sid.

The Sacred Gear was based on Ddraig, a powerful dragon and its entire schtick revolved around boosting.

Issei's eyes widened.

Boosting. It never said only himself on the item description.

If powering himself up didn't work against Riser, he just had to cheat...differently.

With that in mind, his brain threw up a plan.

More or less.

"Prez...do you still have your holy water?" The pawn asked, while softly touching his own bottle in his pockets.

He gotta give props to Sid, the vials were very durable.

Anyway, if he had two bottles, it would be more effective.

To his disappointment, Rias clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"No...I gave it Asia so that she could use it in case I could create an opening."

A valid idea, despite his failing.

Nodding at the information, Issei ventured into his mind for a moment.

"Ddraig, boost counter for this fight?"

At his short and quick question, the dragon hummed in thought for a moment.

"Coupled with your injuries and the exhaustion...I would give you four to five good boosts as a safe limit" His voice turned into a more sombre one. "It won't be enough for another fist fight, partner."

Despite the negative tone, Issei chuckled, much to the lizard's confusion.

The boost count should be enough for what he was planning. Still, should was not enough for Issei.

Safe limit meant he could push it more at the cost of pain and suffering.

But the pawn knew they wouldn't win without taking any risks.

"No safe way to do this then, huh?" He muttered quietly and while Rias nodded grimly, the pawn could feel how his dragon friend grew more concerned.

"Partner, I both like and don't like the way you are saying this."

"Just bring the boosts up," Issei whispered in small amusement, before growing more serious. "Try to bring them up to six. I don't care if I barf out blood, just do it."

"If you say so," Ddraig responded in a somewhat hesitant tone. His host smiled nonetheless.

With that covered he began to stand up, making sure not to pressure his damage leg and turned his head towards his master with a weak grin.

"Prez, I have a plan. Just...stay back."

"What are you going to do?" Rias asked in a neutral tone. But Issei could see the concern in her eyes.

Because of that, he decided to be honest as he let out a sigh and scratched his neck.

"Something very stupid. Which will work, I think."

"Whatever you do, try to keep him at one place," Rias replied after a pause in a serious tone and Issei raised his eyebrow.

Was she planning to shoot Riser again? In her condition?

"Prez, I don't think-"

Before he could end the sentence, the female king stood up and pressed her finger against his lips, hushing him with a warm smile.

As Issei blushed, she removed her finger and said with a small pleading edge:

"I trust you. So trust me, okay?"

"Roger that, master!" The pawn exclaimed, both in happiness and embarrassment.

Ignoring the laughter in his head, Issei turned around with a smug grin.

More points for the Prez route!

Some would think he should focus on the battle, but what he needed right now was to psyche himself up. And the chance of touching his master's boobs rising was a good motivator.

As the pawn limped forward, Riser finally hit the ground and raised his eyebrow as his hands were hidden in his pants pockets.

"A last struggle? Commendable, if futile." He shook his head in amusement and clapped his hands, before opening up his arms with a smirk. "I respect your resolve to protect your king. Once you are a part of my servants, I will make sure that you will never suffer from failure ever again."

Issei didn't even consider the offer and spat to the ground.

"Don't worry about that!" With a growl, he pointed his armored finger at Riser. "The only one who will suffer failure is you!"

"False bravado? Hmph, it seems I must smash reality into your face then."

With a sneer, the pure blooded devil made a challenging gesture with his right hand, not making any moves as Issei slowly made his way forward.

It was a good thing pride couldn't be cure that easily or else the pawn would never reach him.

"Boost!"

The moment the announcement sounded in his head, Issei's poker face threatened to split apart at the flash of agony. But he moved on.

The power was ripping his body apart. Blood already threatened to escape his body.

But it still gave him the speed needed to close the distance with a one legged jump. The swiftness of his approach surprised Riser and because of that, Issei managed to reach the Phenex. Using the force of his jump, the pawn quickly spun around so that he would be hanging behind Riser, throwing his right arm around his neck.

"Wait, are you-"

Before Ddraig could finish his question, filled with creeping terror, Issei grinned when he grasped his left biceps with his right hand, while the gauntlet is positioned behind Riser's head. With his legs locked around the king's stomach, the pawn took a deep breath as Riser struggled to break free with brute force.

And then Issei executed the choke hold, gritting his teeth when he poured all of his energy, physical, magical and even nature energy, into Riser.

Naturally, the fried chicken's distorted in agony as the hostile power poured into him and his breath was cut off. In response, Riser began to claw at Issei's arm and even face, all while setting the two of them in fire.

When Issei still didn't let go, despite his cry of anguish clearly showing that the damage he was receiving was near unbearable, Riser began to jump against the wall of the staircase, crashing Issei against it.

But the pawn didn't let up and only increased the pressure on the choke hold.

"I won't let go, you damn chicken! If I let go...If I let go…!"

Issei's grit his teeth as his voice became more raspy due to the fire around him and opened his mouth to roar a dragon.

"I CAN NEVER HAVE RIAS GREMORY'S VIRGINITY!"

/

Sid face palmed. Then he looked over to the maid whose judging look intensified.

At least her husband grinned widely at the spectacle.

"He did not get that from me!" The only non devil in the room exclaimed, gaining more attention to himself. Not that he cared much.

Turning back to the screen, he could see how Rias wished that she would have been retired already and Riser momentarily stopped his defense, before it redoubled in strength.

Then his eyes widened and he slightly stood up.

"You have got to be kidding me!" He snarled, as he saw what that idiot was doing.

He was so going to kill him after this stunt.

/

The others were so going to kill him after this stunt.

To be honest, Issei expected this plan to back fire on him. But he managed to withstand the flaring heat of Riser and his relentless assault, despite the limit his body was.

The reason his skin wasn't burned to coal, the reason Issei didn't fall from the damage already was simple.

His skin wasn't that of a human anymore. Or devil in that case.

The skin got replaced by scales. Dragon scales.

It was caused because Issei was overloading himself with the nature energy to compensate against the damage he received and still was receiving.

Issei was not very well versed in Senjutsu. Despite his reason training, detection was the only skill he was good enough in to be called advanced. Something complex as applying his own life force, speak using touki, as a body shield was beyond him to use safely. At most, he could empower his arms, but that would be it. The malice of the world was attacking his spirit and would have corrupted him if he went further, especially with that exhausted and damaged body of his.

The cost of gaining immense power and stabilizing his power would have been a destructive one. He would have become a rampaging dragon himself. Perhaps the transformation would have been permanent.

Would have, if a dragon wouldn't reside in that very spirit.

"Issei, what the hell?! I told you about the other Emperors in here!" Ddraig exclaimed with clear anger, his voice strained with effort to keep the malice at bay.

"As long as they are asleep, no big deal, right?" Issei joked, taking the opportunity to distract himself from the torture he was putting himself in.

The dragon was not amused and roared his disapproval very clearly.

"Idiot, everyone could die here! Including yourself!"

"Then shut up and focus!" The host grunted out, already feeling the need to rip everything apart growing as his teeth grew sharper.

"You know what, just choke him already!" After yelling this with a huff, Ddraig began to chant a quiet mantra in Issei's head. "Stay asleep, stay asleep, stay asleep..."

Given the panic in his voice, Issei knew he had to hurry up or else he will go Juggernaut Drive on everyone in this place.

Anyway, the only side effect of this suicidal action was the well known animalistic features youkai would show when using Senjutsu. In this case, it were the features of a dragon. It even managed to heal up his body at a moderate rate, so his body didn't break down from the fires too quickly.

And these features were the reason why the young devil was not burned to ashes yet. The dragon scales were the only reason he didn't pass out from the searing pains of fire yet.

But Issei knew this wouldn't be enough.

He saw how Riser easily regenerated from his master's Power of Destruction. He saw how his power annihilated Yuuto and Akeno.

He felt the fire on his own skin.

Choking him out was more of a pipe dream.

What did work was draining his stamina. The lifeforce forming around him also harmed the immortal. Not as much as direct application, but its passive effects still had an effect.

It wouldn't be enough though.

Luckily, he still had a small bottle to use.

Quickly, Issei moved his gauntlet away from the back of Riser's head and pushed his own face into its place. The fire in his visage didn't bother him much since he was burning everywhere anyway and quickly pulled out his vial, that surprisingly withstood the direct exposure of fire.

Anyway, Issei grinned.

At this distance, he couldn't miss.

With that in mind, the pawn smashed the vial directly into Riser's face.

If his windpipe wasn't being squashed right now, Issei was sure he would have screamed. The water began to sear away the Phenex' skin and give him burns similar to the ones Issei was receiving from his flame. A few drops of holy water hit the pawn himself, but it was not something he was worried about.

Considering that he was already burning and technically growing to be more dragon than devil, the holy water didn't add too much to his pain level.

Issei didn't expect to last this game anyway, so might as well go full in the suicide plan.

Still, with the few strings of mental awareness the pawn still had, Issei realized how the pyrokinetic's regeneration was slowed down immensely, yes. But it was still there.

Riser wasn't damaged enough.

The water needed to be stronger. It needed to be...empowered.

Empowering.

A far, lost memory returned to the front of his mind.

Didn't his Sorcerer friend do something like that with the weaker people they fought along in Kyoto?

If Sid could do it...He could do it too, right?

A Sacred Gear responded to the user's emotions. What he needed before was power to fight. But now he needed power to support. To make others strong, not himself.

Issei began to giggle at the idea, despite his throat being as much on fire as the rest of his body.

To be honest, this whole situation was so shounen, Issei couldn't help but be giddy about it.

Either that or the pain made him go insane.

"Ddraig!"

"No need, I heard you, you crazy bastard!" The dragon laughed as much as Issei would, if he would be able to, and his voice mirrored the determination that filled Issei's mental command. "Boosted Gear! Second Liberation!"

The exclamation filled the whole area and Boosted Gear glowed in a bright light, before it transformed slightly.

A second jewel appeared around his elbow and it became more spikier, giving him a claw like hand and sharper edges at the armor.

Then, another announcement followed.

"Transfer!"

Instantly, the steam rising from the holy water intensified and Riser began to struggle even harder than before. Judging from the intense pain the water caused to Issei just from a few splashes, it must be borderline unbearable to the Phenex.

Still, despite all of his actions, it was the pawn who lost the battle of stamina.

Issei couldn't hold it anymore. And his choke began to slip.

Immediately, Riser threw him down the ground and gasped for air as he grabbed his throat in agony. The burn marks slowly began to heal, but it was nothing compared to his natural power.

As darkness began to creep up his eyes corners, the pawn tried to move his body, to no avail.

He was done.

Still, the pawn fought to keep his consciousness, even though he could faintly hear how Riser got a hold of his breath and pain.

Issei still had one ace up his armored sleeve and he needed to be awake to use it.

He never said anything about full transfer, did he? Issei only used three of his charges on the holy water. Eight times normal intensity.

The reason for splitting them up was simple.

Despite the pain he was in, the burns covering his body and the fact that his mind was overloaded with senjutsu and agony, the fact that he could barely think a clear thought, Issei could see his master as he lied on the ground.

And he remembered her words.

 _Trust me, okay?_

What kind of servant would he be if he didn't follow her words to a T?

"Prez..! This is my final Gift!" He weakly muttered, ignoring the impending doom behind him and the sound of fire flaring up again. "Finish...him..."

Just as his world was filled with hell fire again, Issei smiled when his gauntlet managed to shine one last time and shout his last wish out.

"Transfer!"

/

Riser wasn't pissed. He was way beyond that now, as he poured all his pain and fury into the fire ball to burn the insolent pawn on the ground into cinders.

If he wouldn't be so angry because of the damage he received, he would have actually respected the pawn for his strategy and power. A little bit at least.

As it stood however, he couldn't wait to beat him up on a daily basis once Rias was finally his.

Speaking of Rias, he smiled as he tried to calm his ragged breath.

She couldn't win anymore. All her pieces were gone. Only the kings were left and already, his natural ability tried to heal his wounds. It was slow, but unlike his opponent, Riser could regain his strength. Even with the time bought by her servant, one attack of the Power of Destruction wouldn't beat him. Unless it suddenly gained in speed, Riser could at least clumsily dodge it, before finishing her up when he regenerated enough of his power.

The transfer from the pawn wouldn't do anything. Rias was too weak to make use of it. Hell, Riser wouldn't be surprised if the power would break down the last of her endurance.

With that in mind, the noble turned towards his future wife, a sneer of victory on his face as it couldn't wait to see her broken hope written all over-

The Phenex blinked when he saw Rias. And his mind could not make sense of what he saw.

There she was, his fiancee. But instead of crying tears of sorrow and her being on her knees, she proudly stood in front of him, pure will written all over her face.

She held the biggest concentration of her demonic power since the start of this Rating Game in front of her hands, air swirling out of the way from the Power of Destruction that was as big as Rias herself.

It was impossible. A paradox. Minutes ago, she was too weak to even hurt him properly. Even by the time her knight and pawn arrived, her power grew weak enough to make one of his own bishops on their bad days seem stronger. Even with the break she received, she shouldn't have recovered so quickly to generate an attack of that size.

The lack of wounds bewildered him as well.

How could she-

That's when he saw it.

The familiar, empty bottle that lied next to her feet.

The same vial he gave his beloved queen and cute sister. A Phoenix Tear.

Which she should not have, Riser knew that for a fact. Yubelluna already used hers, if the priestess wasn't lying and Ravel was a level below them before being taken out.

So how did Rias-

Then, realization and rage settled in his face as he grit his teeth to the point of almost breaking them.

The damn rook of hers. She must have punched the bottle up somehow and it must have reached Rias.

That's why her pawn did this. That's why she still held confidence, even after her rook got retired.

With a healthy body, it didn't matter if her magical reserves were low.

The transfer gave her enough power to finish him. His reserves were too low to heal from such an attack. The size was too big to dodge from.

The Phenex snarled in irritation. Did they plan this from the start? Should he had taken them serious from the beginning, in order to have prevented this from happening.

He realized, yes.

This loss was entirely on him.

Surprisingly, accepting that fact made this situation...more acceptable for him.

"This is the power of my peerage," Rias said loudly and with pride, as she glared at Riser. "I win, Riser Phenex."

Instead of being provoked by her clear taunt, he closed his eyes and relaxed, not even bothering to dodge.

Riser still had his pride as a true devil after all and he will not lose while throwing a tantrum.  
He will take this loss like a man.

Letting out a weak chuckle, he grinned at his ex fiancee, his eyes still maintaining his fire. His grin widened further when he saw her surprise at his reaction.

"How cruel...now I just want you more..."

Rias' eyes widened momentarily, before she calmed down and, to his surprise, made a respectful nod before letting her attack fly.

Then only a brilliant crimson light began to engulf him. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt too much. Not even his pride was tarnished. Not much anyway.

For there was no shame to losing against a stronger opponent. Riser realized that, when darkness finally greeted him.

/

"Riser Phenex has been retired. The victory goes to Rias Gremory!"

Obsidian let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

Quickly standing up, the Sorcerer moved from his seat, even when the room exploded in a mix of cheers and objections.

This fight was more nerve wrecking than most stuff he saw.

Especially Issei's stunt.

At the memory, the man leaned against the wall once he reached the hallway, devoid of any other person and let out a shaky breath.

They still slumbered. Despite the malice of the world pouring into him, Ddraig did a good job to reroute it, so to say, away from the past wielders and Issei.

If it would have reached Issei, nothing would have stopped them from activating the full might of the Welsh Emperor.

Everything was still okay however.

Sighing, he wiped off some sweat from his fore head and shook his head.

To more important stuff now. Like, where was the exit or the infirmary?

As if his question was broadcast, Grayfia appeared beside him all of a sudden.

Not even fazed by the sudden appearance, Obsidian smiled thinly.

"I assume I have VIP rights and get to visit them?"

"Indeed," the maid nodded stoically and began to walk in front of him. Receiving the unsaid message, the Magician began to follow her.

After a short while of only foot steps filling the silence, Obsidian cleared his throat and crossed his arms as moved up beside the queen.

"You must be happy for your sister in law."

"On the record, I am neutral to this endeavor. Lady Gremory was the one who took this more serious and capitalized on this. Her peerage did good work as well."

Her voice didn't change in volume nor in tone as she gave a professional assessment. The Vietnamese however grinned knowingly.

He dealt with enough people like her to read the subtle signs.

"Off the record?"

"We are not close enough for off the record." Her mouth corners twitched slightly, despite the same neutral tone her voice held. "Though there could be a rumor that I could be delighted by the turn of events. But I wonder who could have spread that rumor."

"Who indeed," Obsidian chuckled amused.

When he calmed down again, the man raised an eyebrow when Grayfia stopped in front of a wide, fancy door, with the sign "Infirmary" on it.

"I thought there would be a bunch of paparazzi running over this place," he stated in curiosity, looked around with a hum.

"They know better." Another mouth twitch. "Also, Lord Lucifer is keeping them at bay."

"Explains why he isn't here yet," Obsidian commented with a shrug.

"If he had his way, he would have fortified this position and wouldn't leave his sister's side." For the first time, the maid more emotion in form of an exasperated sigh, before shaking her head and smoothing over her facial features with a slight bow. "I shall remain at the door. Do not agitate them."

The Sorcerer grunted in understanding, before entering the room.

The room looked exactly how Obsidian expected.

Reeking like medicine, weird breathing machine stuff or like that, white gowns, beds and curtains, all packed in one white, boring room.

And every single one of its inhabitants looked like corpses.

Rias' entire peerage was bedridden, all pale to some extent as their faces were filled with pain as healers in nurse outfits tried their best to alleviate that agony.

Despite the advanced system of the Rating Game, injuries still carried over, though diminished to some sort, as he could spot some burn marks on almost all of them.

Still, pain was pain. So far, only Rias appeared healthy enough, as she leaned against the wall, unlike the others, who were basically forced to lie down properly. Especially Issei.

To be honest, it was a sorry sight.

Because of that, Obsidian leaned against the wall next to the doors and smirked.

"So, how does victory feel?"

His teasing comment caused a collective groan from all injured devils, even from Asia, and he received dirty looks from the ones who could see him (Issei, Koneko and Rias) and the other nurses in the room.

After letting out a short laugh, he moved from the wall and approached the nearest bed to the right, which belonged the scaly pawn and smiled warmly at him, then at the others.

"Good game."

This brought a warm atmosphere into the room, as the others mirrored his expression, albeit weakly and Issei chuckled, before wincing in pain.

"Don't make me laugh. Throat still hurts." His face became more sombre as he removed his hand from his chest. "If not for Kyoto...I would have lost."

"You just had to add another plus point to the list, huh?" Obsidian groaned in an exaggerating manner and forced Issei to laugh again, which devolved into choking.

"Sir, I have to ask you to refrain from your inside jokes."

The Sorcerer raised his hands in defense at the nurse, who shot a death glare at him, before minding the machinery again.

"Hey...could you…?"

At his quiet question, Obsidian blinked at his friend in confusion. Then, realization dawned on his face and he poked Issei in the face.

Moments later, the dragonic features vanish, revealing normal, human, devil like skin.

"Boom. You won't have to worry about molting your scales." At the blank stare of the nurse, he waved his hand non chalantly. "Long story, don't ask."

The healer rolled her eyes before shrugging.

"I am getting paid for keeping quiet and just healing, so I don't care."

"And again, a sexy girl hugging me or sucking my finger is stolen from me," Issei said dramatically as he raised his left arm into the air, fake tears running down from his eyes.

"And again, my host doesn't appreciate the coolness of scales," Ddraig replied in a dry tone, making the host huff in response and the Sorcerer chuckle slightly, causing a little confusion to the other observers. Then, they shrugged it off and minded their own business.

After calming down a little, Obsidian sat down on a stool next to the bed and leaned forward with a frown.

"You are lucky that the others in there kept sleeping or else I would have to step in," the Vietnamese muttered quietly, making sure to keep his voice down.

Just to be sure, he cast a sound dampening spell around them. One could never be sure enough around devils with their enhanced senses.

"You sure you could have handled it?" Issei muttered back, clear worry on his face and Obsidian scratched his chin slightly.

Despite his own power, a full blown, non stop boosting dragon was no joke. And he wasn't one to brag about his own power.

"Long enough for others to step in," the adult answered truthfully. Still, he shuddered at the thought, at the same time as Issei.

With that done, he lifted the spell and turned around.

No one noticed either the spell or the conversation, as they were busy being exhausted or treating the exhausted respectively.

Speaking of exhausted, Rias groaned as she moved up her body in order to see him from the other end of the group before folding her hands.

"Mr-"

"Nope," Obsidian immediately interjected and ignored the dirty glares from the servants. Rias rolled her eyes however and raised her voice once more with a smile.

"Obsidian. Thank you for your support."

"Hey, I only helped out a little. You guys did the heavy lifting," he handwaved, but the king sent him a small glare, making him straighten up a little.

"That may be. But I still want to invite you to our celebration. It would be against my pride to leave you out."

For a moment, Obsidian blinked before looking around in the room. Spotting the faces of the rest of the peerage, he could only spot tired approval.

Obsidian shrugged.

"Sure. Free food and what not."

While Rias nodded happily, Issei tugged at his sleeve. Turning to his friend, Obsidian tilted his head in confusion.

"You should be more happy about this!" The pawn hissed angrily, but the Sorcerer only looked at him in a dry tone.

"What, spending time with girls? I am not you."

Issei spluttered with a flushed face in response and caused a rumbling laughter from the peerage, before they all joined a synchronised groan again.

This was apparently the step over the line, as at least four nurses grabbed him by his hoodie shirt and pushed him out of the room, before smashing the door shut.

At first, silence greeted him, as well as Grayfia who simply raised her eyebrow.

The Sorcerer shrugged casually and laughed lightly.

Obsidian was proud of Issei. Of his friends.


	9. Flashback 1: Goddamn Fate

I gasped for air when my eyes snapped open and I threw myself up into a seating position. Frantically, I looked around with my panicked breath, seeing nothing unnatural.

Letting out a mental sigh of relief since my breath did not calm down in the slightest, I checked over my body.

Normal black hair, normal flesh and skin…

After touching myself, I let out a sigh of relief and kissed my arm before lying back down on the grass, chest quickly moving up and down as my breath just wouldn't get still.

Thank god, I still have a body! Not sure how I still had it, but I didn't look into the gift horse's mouth. It felt nice to be...back on the ground so to say. Even if it felt like a small cage, but I preferred it right now.

It was like I was finally back home. Not that I was, I knew that for a fact.

Grasping the cool, wet grass in my hands, I tried to stop hyperventilating and instead focus on breathing while also processing what happened what felt like mere moments ago.

In...and out...In...and out.

With my breath finally calm, I shook my head and dusted the dirt of my hands, before covering my face into them with a gritted teeth and a loud groan.

I was in another world.

And just got Heaven's Feel.

Okay, maybe I should elaborate a little more…

/

First I died. Dunno why, but it just happened. I think heart attack, but I didn't pay much attention to it since I was in incredible pain.

While the cold engulfed me, I felt my...soul getting pulled out of my body.

That's when I saw it.

The reddish, black swirl that sucked me through it.

Not an expert on dying, but I was sure that was not natural.

The last thing I saw were panicking bywalkers surround my body and one even trying to revive my body. Then I couldn't feel anything anymore. Only thing I had were my thoughts and even that ability began to leave me when the energy tornado that sucked me in made me dizzy as hell. I didn't know how long I was in there, but it took everything out of me to not...black out.

Still, I managed to stay conscious and managed to get through the weird portal.

Once I began to gather my wits again when the chaos stopped, I opened my soul eyes.

If I wouldn't have been dead to begin with, the view would have been breath taking.

Stars were everywhere, reaching beyond what I could see. Galaxies, moving in harmony with their neighbor. Planets, full with life, protected in their areas, existing in peace. The vast void in between and beyond those places.

And there it was, in the middle. Don't ask me how I knew, but I saw the middle of this...place.

A great, bright and white area, with a small darkish spot in the middle, with an even brighter light in its very epicenter. Its swirl was creating such a strong force, it threw everything out and sucked everything in.

That's when I finally realized what I was looking at.

I saw the universe, no, the multiverse. And I saw its origin.

Akasha. The place where all souls go and where all souls come. Beyond time and space, it storaged all information. Past, present, future, it didn't matter.

It filled me with awe, seeing such a trancending, primal force. And I felt fear.

That fear fueled me as I tried to move away from it.

Despite its beauty, I tried my best to stay the hell away from it when I shook out of the awe. It was the origin, the root of all things.

And it would be my end as well.

I knew what would happen and I put all my meager power against the pull it had. It was futile, my efforts slowed me down only by a small fraction.

But I still tried.

My soul would get reduced to it's core properties. The person I was would never exist again. And naturally, I didn't want to die. Not like this.

Even if I would only exist as a wraith, I didn't want to cease. Hell, I didn't even belong there, so why should I go there? I knew that such thoughts wouldn't change the outcome, since Akasha didn't gave a damn who I was or what I wanted, but I would be damned if I didn't try at least.

I didn't know why, but fate decided it was not my time.

The pull stopped all of a sudden. No, it didn't stop. Someone stopped me. I was filled with gratitude back then, but it would be quickly be replaced by dread.

I was still outside in the universe. I could clearly see Akasha. But I also saw wires binding me, pulling me against the swirl of the multiverse.

Slowly turning my incorporeal head around, that's when I saw...it.

An effeminate looking person, barely bigger than your average seven year old child, was staring at me with mild amusement, playfully moving its fingers as it pulled me closer and closer to itself with the wires.

I had no idea what its sex or gender was, so I would just call the person in front of me an it.

Anyway, what grabbed my attention the most back then however was its head and its clothes.

White, long hair and red eyes. Bishop like, pure white clothes.

Einzbern.

Of course, it could have been a random albino child with pope clothing, but the fact that I knew at the core of my being where I was, there was only one explanation. The Einzbern family was one of the families that managed to discover a True Magic.

Heaven's Feel. The materialization of the soul. And as far as I was concerned, I was a soul and therefore belonged to its territory.

It would explain why the Third Magic couldn't be rediscovered again by the Einzbern.

Because the path was still in use. Because its user left the living plane and therefore was unreachable by others.

Considering all these hints, I decided call it Protobern.

"Oho, what a fortunate coincidence!" Its voice was young and a girlish giggle escaped it as it held its stomach in amusement, pulling me so close that I was mere inches away from it.

Still, something was off. The innocent demeanor had a...weird edge to it. As if there was more behind it.

I tried to speak up, but no noise came out of my throat. I tried again, frown clear on my face, but nothing came out. I guessed that souls normally couldn't talk, but it was counterproductive. I needed to know more.

Protobern simply eyed my antics with amused curiosity as it circled around me, arms folded behind its back.

"Usually souls return to the Root too fast for me to catch under most circumstances. But lucky me, fresh soul right here, with enough will power to not go in there instantly!"

I would have hummed in interest if I could. That would mean that some greater force, Alaya or Gaia, the will of humanity and Earth respectively, were actively working against her. Good to know.

The question was, why me? I tried to send my thoughts over to it as I concentrated with great force, grimacing and gritting my teeth in the process.

It just blinked for a moment, before making an oh sound and tapping its own head with a chuckle.

"Right, you can't talk here as a simple mortal soul." Crossing its arms, it leaned forward with a wide grin. "I guess you are confused. 'Oh powerful Sorcerer, are you not mighty enough to reach all souls?' Well, the forces of the universe don't like me do that thing, so they are often too fast for me unless I focus very hard or am nearby enough."

I sent it a glare. It was nice to know, but that was not my question. Also, the child thing was starting to get on my nerves. Still, Protobern ignored my frustration and petted my soul head with a nod, as if it made a big discovery.

"I guess you are a big enough anomaly to not get their attention too quickly."

Then, its voice gained a melody like tone and wiggled with its left index finger.

"Surely you question why I consider it lucky that I found you~!" Suddenly, the smile fell and for the first time, I saw it frown. "Quite easy, I...require your assistance." It stopped and made a contemplating expression, before shrugging and gesturing towards me. "I mean, not exactly yours, but since you are here, why not?"

Wow, I felt so special. My frown intensified, but instead of laughing, it ignored my irritation and surprisingly bit its lip.

"How to explain..." Closing its eyes, it let out a sigh before tapping its own forehead. "I've been struggling with a problem and I was torn on what to do. Should I or should I not? But here I see you and thought...I should!"

I gaped at the being in front of me, huffing in pride as its hands were on its hips, letting out a loud laugh.

Were all Sorcerers crazy people?!

As if sensing my thoughts, and I was sure it could, it sent me a knowing smirk before pointing its finger at me dramatically.

"Right, you don't know what to call me. Well, my name isn't very important, so call me what you want. What is important, is you!"

I tilted my head. What made me so special?

Protobern's smile suddenly got a more...honest edge to it I guess. It made me trust the Sorcerer more for some reason.

"Do you want to live? No matter the cost?" The smile faltered slightly. "I can tell you, there will be a cost. A big one, I wouldn't want to wish on any normal being. And I am not exaggerating."

That sounded a lot like a deal with a devil. But less douchebag devil, more honest business man devil.

Still, I let my indignation show on my face and tried to cross my arms, before realizing that I was still bound by its wires. So instead I was nodding frantically.

Protobern hummed in thought and stared at its right hand, shaking its head as its slowly moved its fingers as if playing with something.

"And what would you do if you would get great power?"

That...sounded rather random as I glanced upwards, wrecking my head. Honestly I would do...not much with it. Maybe make my life a bit easier, but I wouldn't go out and try to conquer the world or experiment like a mad man. I didn't have the ambition for that.

I wondered why it asked me that. Perhaps it would give me a power up when getting me out of here, but I couldn't know.

I didn't bother to be surprised when Protobern nodded in approval, happiness radiating from its small smile.

"Hm, hm...Good..." It gestured towards me and then pointed at my head. "You probably realized I could just read your soul like a book, but it's been ages since I had a good conversation." It let out a sigh. "Most are so...boring." Shaking its head, it glanced at me. "I mean, you are also boring in a sense, but if you met the people I met, the vain are a good change as well!"

So that must have been hell, I thought. Being sassed by a midget half my size. As if regaining some kind of social politeness, it dared to blush and scratched its head awkwardly with a small giggle.

"I went off topic. Apologies. Better hurry this up before someone notices." With its open palm, it presented it to me as if giving me a gift. The smirk similar to the devil almost seemed to taunt me. "Living. Yes or no?"

There was definitely something off. Not the smirk, the gestures, but its face. There was almost a plead in its eyes, as if begging me to take the offer. If I cared more, I would have asked why it was so insistent to give me this choice.

But all I thought was to survive. To not be reduced to pure mana or whatever else it was called.

With all my might, I mentally screamed 'yes' with every fiber of my soul.

The smirk almost split its face in half, but its eyes also became a bit misty for some reason.

"Perfect~!" It rested its hand on my forehead and leaned in, smirk reduced to a small smile. "Welcome to my world…my heir."

The whisper filled me with confusion, before my eyes widened in shock when I processed the last word.

Before I could voice out my concern, pure power began to fill me. It was as if lightning struck me, as energy exploded inside me.

And it was an absolute bliss.

No amount of happiness, no kind of entertainment could compare to what I felt at that moment. It was as if I reached Paradise.

And don't get me started on the knowledge. A...metaphysical path got crammed into my head. But instead of agonizing pain, it smoothly found its way into my mind. So did millions of memories, which I knew was about how to operate Heaven's Feel. But I couldn't grasp a single one of them, all escaping into the depths of my own head.

As fast as it came, it stopped. But there was still some lingering...glory.

That's when I noticed that my soul felt...more free. The pull from Akasha stopped entirely. And I wasn't near incorporeal.

It was as if I had a body. A body of a superhuman, but a body nonetheless. And my mind felt free, wide. I knew I could absorb entire libraries into it and it would not even remotely reach a limit.

What I felt...was limitless potential.

I couldn't help but giggle. Then it became a full on laughter. Only now did I realized how limited I was as a mere mortal. I could do anything, take on the entire-

I stopped instantly.

What the hell was I thinking?

I just said I wanted a simple life and now I wanted to pick a fight with everyone?

That...wasn't me.

Dread filled my face as I began to hyperventilate.

Power was corrupting. Only now did I realize its real meaning. Hugging myself, I let out a shaky breath and closed my eyes, afraid of what I could do.

Then I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. Turning to it, I saw Protobern, smiling softly at me. With pride. Somehow, it managed to calm me down.

"I believe in you to not abuse this power." A small chuckle escaped it. "Well, it's limited now anyway, so you have plenty of time to come to terms with this and learn about it."

I nodded weakly, understanding the safety measures for me. Considering I almost gave into the seduction of power, I needed that.

It took me a moment, but my eyes widened at the implications at this.

I had the Third Magic.

That meant Protobern didn't have it. Only one can have a True Magic. That's why it called me its heir. That's why it gave me the path.

It would explain why it started to become more and more transparent.

The more important question however was...

"Why…?" I absentmindedly realized I could actually mutter the word out, but I was too busy putting all my confusion and shock into this single word.

Instead of an answer, it sadly shook its head.

"Thank you...and I am sorry for the burden you have to carry now...I hope you will understand."

Longingly, it stared back to the Swirl of the Root. The indication of this froze my entire soul.

They wanted to commit suicide. But not before passing on the power to me.

It only put my mind into more of a frenzy. It didn't explain anything.

Before I could speak up again, it turned back to me and the most pure and grateful smile met me. It stopped me long enough for it to put a hand on my chest.

"Goodbye. And good luck."

With this whisper, it pushed me with its last power.

And I accelerated between the stars, loudly screaming in the meantime. Protobern got smaller and smaller in mere seconds, before it completely vanished from my sights.

Meanwhile, stars and galaxies went past me as I rushed in between them, no idea how to stop myself. Instead, I tried to turn my body to look into the direction I was flying.

Between the galaxies, I flew against a blue and green planet in extreme speeds. Closing my eyes, I expected impact with a scream.

Then I blacked out, last thoughts about how I wanted to know my predecessor more and the regret that came with it.

/

I took a calming breath again and rubbed my eyes that began to tear up when I woke up from my memory trip.

I wouldn't even try and understand why they gave me the power. Why they looked so...tired and somber. Why they wanted to die and waited so long to give up Heaven's Feel.

Were they stuck in a metaphysical prison? A geas perhaps? Did their mind break only now? Did they see something special in me or was I the final nail on the coffin?

Questions I would never get an answer now.

I should stop thinking about this. The least I could do was honor their memory. The small memory I had anyway.

Heaving a breath, I raised myself, shook my head and blankly stared at my knees.

Anyway, to summarize, Protobern dumped her or his Magic into me when I got in range, committed suicide in that way and now I was in Nasuverse with said Magic.

Somehow.

I won't even think about how I got near the damn Root in the first place. Won't help me anyway. I didn't have much in my own world anyway, so not time sulking about it.

Instead, let's focus on my Magic.

I had an instinctive knowledge of it. It would nudge me to the right path and tell me if I do something right, but for that to trigger I gotta experiment with Heaven's Feel myself. So it was true that my predecessor limited me.

But with the short time I had it, I realized three things.

One, I could leave my body anytime. Second, my soul form itself was limited as well. And three, I could sense and outright hear spirits.

It was like living next to a highway. Constant noise, that was a bit hard to ignore. Instead of engines, it were voices however. I couldn't make out anything and it started to give me a headache.

I shortly forgot about the limits of a human body, but it reminded me of my own mortality. I knew not much could kill me.

But not much didn't mean nothing.

Anyway, gritting my teeth, I willed myself to ignore the annoying droning noise in the back of my head. Shoo, ghosts, shoo!

A few minutes of grunting and gritting my teeth with closed eyes, blissful silence finally settled in. I wiped my forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Alright, got that done.

Now to where exactly I was. Only because I had Nasuverse powers didn't mean I was in Nasuverse.

Taking a look at my surroundings, I wondered where exactly I was and where I should go from here.

A grassy hill overseeing a town, that looked like your average anime city with the white buildings and stuff. The moon shined brightly and illuminated the spots not lightened up by lamps and the like. Almost no traffic could be heard, so it must be very late or very early, depending on the time.

To my right was a strangely flat rock and some trees. Left side was also a bunch of trees.

I scratched my head.

That did not tell me a lot where I was…

Wait a minute. That rock. Trees. Nice view on the city...

I think I was at the same place where Rin confessed to Shirou in the UBW route. Maybe, it did resemble the anime.

Either that or I was delusional.

Or I was too hopeful.

I clicked my tongue. I needed more evidence. Maybe I should go down to the city. But it would raise questions.

Not to mention the potential language barrier.

I winced slightly. That was a rather bad situation I was in.

A light growl escaped me as I crossed my arms and my forehead wrinkled. Gotta think my future steps through or else I could get into a lot of trouble.

Deciding to finish my round in the meantime, I looked behind me.

Surprise, more trees.

I let out a sigh. Course it couldn't have a sign that said "You are at X".

Since that was not the case, I started to turn around, deciding I had to go down there eventually.

But something caught my eye, and I did a double take.

There was...something red peaking out of one of the trees.

What was that?

I squinted my eyes, putting all my effort into my focus. Then, something moved out from b-

Quickly, my head snapped back into its proper place and I stared down to the city.

I blinked. Then I let out a small breath and nodded.

Nope, did not see a red shadow observing me creepily behind me in that forest.

My breath began to become more frantic as I swore to whatever higher power that was up there that my eyes played a trick on me.

But a large part of me knew that it was there. And it was dangerous.

Something in me told me that at least. Maybe the past knowledge of my predecessor. Or maybe I saw it when I surfed through the internet.

If my Nasuverse was better, I would probably know what that thing was.

Since I did not know, let's ignore it and hope it would go away on its own.

Easier said than done, as I sweat buckets and grabbed the grass in front of me to resist the temptation to turn around.

I didn't want any trouble, so why the fuck was it there?! My breath by now was in full panic mode, as several thoughts went through my head.

What was it, what did it want, what did I do, what could it do.

And the worse was, the temptation to turn around grew bigger. I knew it would be the death of me, I read Orpheus and knew it would be the worst thing to do in such a situation.

But I couldn't help it. I saw it and my curiosity won the battle. I turned around, screaming loudly at my own weakness, tears running down my eyes.

Aaaand it's gone.

…

What the hell, what the hell.

As my breath began to calm down and I rubbed my eyes, I squinted.

The shadow was gone. I knew for a fact it was there, but for some reason it was gone.

All my strength left me and I fell down on my back, my hand covering my eyes as my face was blank.

Guess the higher powers probably did not like me having the Third Magic. That might only be my paranoia, but I did not want to stay on this planet if there were more stalkers like the red thing.

Or universe.

Or multiverse.

Yes, out of the multiverse sounded nice.

That meant…

I grabbed my left arm with some pressure, determination filling my eyes as I stared to the moon.

I had to find Zelretch immediately if I wanted to get out of here.

"You are aware you are talking out loud, right?"

To be fair, after the red shadow, it was natural for me to scream like a girl as I jumped up several feet and frantically backed off with a half assed karate stance.

The old man simply leaned on his walking stick with mild amusement directed at me. With the black outfit, similar to modern Japanese military uniform, the white gloves, gray heir and the red eyes, it wouldn't be hard to confused him with some fit veteran soldier.

But I knew exactly who he was. It was like an instinctive knowledge again, as I pointed my shaking finger at him.  
Predicting my reaction, he chuckled and slightly bowed in a polite manner.

"Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the Kaleidoscope in the flesh. And you are..." A knowing smirk appeared on his face. "Heaven's Feel?"

I was about to answer, before taking a deep breath and scratched my head with an annoyed sigh.

"Apparently. My predecessor didn't even give me a manual for this crap. Anyway, my name is..."

Telling him my name, he nodded in interest. Then we stood there in silence for a moment, as he assessed me with a glint in his eyes. I on the other hand became a bit introspective.

I noticed that I was not as socially incompetent as always. Guess that True Magic boosted self esteem, who could have guessed?

Also, when I told him my true name it felt...off. Thinking about it for a while, I realized why.

By all means, I was not that person anymore. I left that life behind now.

I wouldn't just discard my name and forget it, but it felt wrong to cling to it either.

So I decided to pick a new name and cherish my original name. To remind myself.

I let out a chuckle, breaking him out of his musings about me and pointed at myself.

"But you know what? Since this is my new life now, new name. Obsidian Noir."

He raised an eyebrow, smirk still in place.

"Let me guess, that's your internet name?"

"Yeah. What about it?" I asked with a slight pout, crossing my arms. He raised his hands defensively, but his smirk didn't change.

"Nothing, nothing. It just sounds...very lame."

I huffed, making him chuckle slightly, as I gestured to myself with my right hand with a frown.

"Considering I have one of the True Magic, I don't think anyone can force me to change it."

Zelretch shrugged casually and then put his walking stick in his left hand, before pointing at himself.

"Hm, good point. And I don't really care what you call yourself. Either way, Sid. I can call you Sid, right? Anyway, what do you need me for?"

As the wind made the trees rustle in the background, I wondered how to phrase my request. After biting my lip, I shrugged and decided to be blunt.

"Survival training and preferably a ticket to a normal world like my own." I stopped momentarily and raised a third finger. "Preferably, preferably, without magi, Alaya or some other supernatural bullshit in the background."

The old man let out a loud laugh, making me nervous slightly, despite its lack of malevolence. When he finished, he wiped a tear off.

"Straightforward, just the way I like it." Smile still in place, he tilted his head and gestured to me. "But why should I? By all means, I have no obligation to babysit you."

Opening my mouth, I tried to form an objection. But I closed it again, when I realized that he was right. Why should he help me? It wasn't like he was a good Samaritan or a messiah. He was just an old man with super powers and sometimes helped out. It didn't mean he had to.

Wrecking my brain, I tried to find a way to appease him.

Money would be out, as did power. Maybe some good stories? Booze?

What did Sorcerers li-

I shook my head, ending these lines of thought. Thinking of the stereotypical old wizard wouldn't help me here. I had to treat him like a normal person.

A super human person, but it wouldn't help me to treat him like anything special. So...

"How about we talk for a while and maybe you take a liking to me?"

His smile faltered for a moment and tilted his head in confusion. I on the other hand tried to suppress my blush at how blunt I was. But it was the only approach that I could think of.

I'll just pretend this was a date and go from there. Not that I ever was on a date, but I could try.

Luckily for me, Zelretch shrugged and playfully looked at his wristwatch.

"Sure, I have some free time." He looked up and gestured to the flat stone I previously mentioned. When I sat down, the old man held his hand in front of his face, looking a bit sorry. "Do you mind if I get a chair? These old bones of mine aren't healthy enough to sit on this very flat rock."

I shrugged, not really caring, and took a deep breath while he conjured a chair out of nowhere. He sat down and crossed his legs. With folded hands, he stared at me in expectation.

I stared back, sweat running down my neck as we stared at each other in silence.

This felt like a damn job interview. I awkwardly scratched my head.

"So...what year is it?" I slowly asked, deciding that I might as well get some information while making a good impression on one of the most powerful beings on this planet.

"1992." He scratched his beard in interest. "I assume your dimension has my dimension as some kind of literature?"

"Anime, light novel, visual novels, all of it," I explained, lazily moving my hand around. Then I frowned slightly in order to remember some data from my memories. I snapped my fingers and slightly shook it as I pointed at the vampire with my right hand. "Two years before the Fourth Holy Grail War, right?"

"Indeed," he stated and didn't say anything more.

Mentally, I cursed. I wanted to get him to talk a bit more.

Zelretch probably wanted to see how good I was at holding a conversation. Or what I said wasn't much of a conversation line.

Damn it.

"Why did you build it in the first place?" I asked, before looking down on the ground with a confused expression.

Now it felt like I was interviewing him and not the other way around.

Surprisingly, when I looked up, he had a joyful expression as he delved into his memories, before shrugging nonchalantly.

"I didn't build it, I was there to supervise the whole thing. Nagato, the Makiri and the Einzbern build the thing themselves. The most I did was tell them how to reach the Throne of Heroes for their idea and that was it."

I hummed in interest and leaned forward with folded hands.

The more you know.

Still, something bothered me as my eyes squinted in thought.

"You knew it wouldn't be as omnipotent as they thought it would be," I stated, pointing my folded hands towards him.

He openly grinned in response and raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Of course I did. But for the goals they wanted, reaching Akasha and finding Heaven's Feel again, it would have been enough." His cheer got replaced by disappointment as he huffed and crossed his arms. "Of course, they and their descendants have to screw it up at least three times over for some reason or the other. Honestly, I am staying out of it until something interesting catches my eye."

His pout was a bit off putting. But I had to ask, as I mustered up a glare at his reaction.

"You are aware that the Holy Grail could be used for evil, right?" I asked in a heated tone, disbelief written on my face.

By all means I should be afraid, but it angered me a little that such a powerful being acted so willy nilly about such a dangerous device.

To my surprise, his face became more serious and I gulped as I backed off slightly.

"And I would intervene, if I really had to. Most of the time however, there are others that can do my job. I don't have to clean everything up if others can clean their own mess up," Zelretch said dryly. I tried my best to meet his glare, but I couldn't help but let out a whimper.

"If you say so," I squeaked out and avoided eye contact. I awkwardly tipped my index fingers against each other."Well, I can tell you, the Fourth one will be a cluster fuck like the Third one, I can tell you that."

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I couldn't get too pissed at him. It would be against my plans. When I turned back to him, I jumped back for a moment.

Instead of a moody Sorcerer, his small grin was pointed directly at me.

His mood took a complete turn, as his usual, interested face stared at me.

Did he fake his disapproval? I had no idea.

Before I could recover from, it was his turn to press me with question.

"Why do you want my training?"

I blinked and scratched my chin as he leaned back in his chair, awaiting my reply in light excitement.

Huh, getting right to the meat. Didn't expect that.

Still, I already thought about it and decided to share the truth with him. I leaned back, supporting myself on my hands and stared up to the stars.

"I already have True Magic and I might as well find out more about it and the other stuff. They do sound interesting. Not that I will use them much if I have a say in it. Just want the knowledge for the more you know and safety measures, then lean back and live an easy life." I frowned and let out a sigh before gesturing with my left hand a little. "Okay, maybe I help people here and there, but that's it."

"What, no search for glory or challenges? No, going to be the hero?" The Sorcerer asked, tilting his head slightly. I scoffed in response.

"Someone else can be the shounen protagonist. Not me," I replied before straightening up a little.

The vampire chuckled and shook his head. Opening his eyes, they were filled with empathy.

"How bland. But, understandable. At least you have more personality and honesty than any other magus I came across. Akasha this, Akasha that...no one who just wants to learn for learning sake or to better himself and the world." He frowned as he tapped on his stick to his right in slight irritation. "Hmph, my teachings are not simply a means to an end."

"Huh, didn't know that they pissed you off that much," I replied, blinking slightly at the show of emotions.

He lifted his right hand and waved it a little as his voice grew a bit tired.

"I have morals. Sure, I do prank people, but I do that to keep myself sane. No real harm done. I consider myself an overall decent person," he proudly pointed at himself with a childish grin, but I felt that he believed what he said.

Honestly, it intrigued me a little to know more about the Kaleidoscope in front of me. I almost forgot entirely about my original intent to convince him to train me. I began to care more about the person himself.

"Is that why you preferred Nagato Tohsaka?" I asked, leaning my chin on my right hand. I read that Nagato was different from the usual magus, but I couldn't remember much about him.

"Yup. I like other decent people and he was very decent back then." A warm chuckle escaped him as Zelretch looked up to the sky, floating in memories, before turning back to me. "So tell me...your world is completely normal. No magic. No mutants or super science. No aliens?"

"Aliens could be there, we just don't know it. But far as I know, no magic." After I shrugged, I raised an eyebrow when the Sorcerer pouted for some reason. "What, not different enough for you?"

He raised his right hand in a placating manner.

"Not really. I mean, it is refreshing to only hear of small changes, but I like the big stuff. Like metahumans. Or kaiju. Kaiju were fun to look at."

The way he said it was like different shows he was watching. But for me, it was stuff out of fiction. He snorted weakly when I lied down on the flat rock.

"I can't even imagine what it would be like," I said weakly, my imagination failing how Zelretch could experience the Second Magic like he did.

"It's basically like very good TV. Or VR," he commented in small amusement, drawing a TV screen with his fingers in the air.

"You don't drag other people off to spice it up, right?" I asked carefully as I raised my head slightly. He shook his head, thankfully for my nerves.

"Nah, I'm not that desperate for entertainment yet." He stopped momentarily and then gave me a frown. "Let me guess, fanfiction writers?"

Honestly, I should have felt slightly insulted as well, since I wrote fanfictions as well, but at this point, I weakly raised my hands in mock surrender while still lying on the rock.  
"It's very easy to do in your case since there isn't much written about you."

My explanation only made him grumble like a child as he crossed his arms and muttered something about kicking Nasu's ass when he got the opportunity or something like that.

Though that made me question one thing, considering that there was a big lack of knowledge about Zelretch anyway.

"Speaking of magecraft and all that..." When I got his attention, I sat up again and folded my hands in front of my mouth. "Why don't you use anything more complicated? I mean, the only thing you ever used was that super laser."

"Story of my life?" The Sorcerer asked with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged in response.

"Was mentioned somewhere in the works. I read it on a wiki."

He made an understanding 'ah' sound, before leaning his head back as he actually glared at the moon, before looking back at me.

"Most of my attention is split on getting the energy in the first place. And anything above traveling and that energy gathering needs more focus. Nothing I can use in mid battle." For the first time, the vampire looked sad as his shoulders slumped slightly. "And that's in the past. With that body now, anything more complicated like omniverse or this fractional Gaeshi thing is beyond me now."

"What can you do now?" I asked. The Sorcerer let out a sigh, before starting to weakly gesture with his hand.

"Watch small parts of the omniverse. But I can't do anything with it. Not a clear picture either. Traveling to the nearest alternative dimensions, but that takes a lot of effort out of me. Simple magic spells that involve using other dimensions as fuel, but I am starting to get weaker. The battle against the damn moon man took its price. Too much energy in one go, without precautions can do that to you."

As his head hung low, his mood completely down, my eyes began to widen.

I got the bargaining chip I was searching for. Maybe.

He wasn't the only Sorcerer around now, was he? And unlike Aoko, I knew exactly what my Magic roughly entails.

"How about I fix your problem?" I asked, a sly tone creeping into my voice as I grinned with crossed legs and I leaned forward.

Zelretch looked up, blinking slightly with an unreadable expression. Then he gestured with his right hand.

"Continue."

Having his full attention, I began to elaborate as I tapped my chin.

"I guess since you can't go to more distant places, I assume you can't find any esoteric healing stuff?"

"Yup, everything I found here and other dimensions wouldn't do the trick. Why?" Zelretch asked in a suspicious tone. I chuckled slightly and crossed my arms.

"How about...Heroic Spirits?"

Unlike how I expected, he let out a tired sigh and handwaved my suggestion. Yet, my grin was still there. He rolled his eyes and looked down on the ground.

"Already tried to snatch one from a Holy Grail war. Not enough time nor power. Counterproductive if I used my energy and we made a safety that I couldn't participate in it anyway. Other magi can't sustain them enough to help me out anyway. It would take a lot of...prana..." He trailed off, the implications of my words slowly dawning on him. Hope lightened up in his eyes when his head snapped towards me. "But you aren't bound by the Grail, are you now?"

I grinned slightly. Gotcha.

"Exactly. I can get you a full Heroic Spirit, no limiters in neither prana, time or power." I stood up and opened up my arms in glee. "And I don't have to stop at one. I can go through the Throne of Heroes and find the best magi and magicians of humanity's history to help you."

"And in exchange I offer my service of my newly regained powers and train you." Zelretch's grin was as wide as mine as he stood up. "I'm impressed. I didn't think much about this meeting, but you convinced me." He extended his right hand towards me, with his left hand resting on his cane again as he dismissed his chair. "I, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, will tutor you and keep you safe. Until I found a safe place for you that is."

"And I, Obsidian Noir, will do my best to heal you of your wounds," I responded in an equal traditional, but happy tone as I shook his hand with my own.

The deal was sealed. I got my ticket out of this crazy multiverse and got a way to learn how to defend myself.

Which meant training.

My smile faltered slightly as we still held the hand of the other.

"The rumors about you being a hard teacher are a lie, right?" I asked, a nervous chuckle escaping me.

The vampire's grip became stronger on my hand and he leaned forward as his smile grew darker.

"Gee, I wonder..."

At his evil tone, I gulped.

"I need an adult," I squeaked out and he shook his head as his grip was like iron around my hand.

"I am an adult. Also, what do you worry about? You are technically immortal."

"Emphasis on technically," I protested weakly, but he just petted my hand with his free left hand. But instead of reassuring, it felt like a death sentence.

"Well, let's find out how much emphasis that term has."

I was so screwed.

/

Okay, I wasn't that screwed, but the next three months were still a pain with my fellow Sorcerer.

Zelretch wasn't that much of a troll as everyone made him out to be.

Trolls were complete nonsensical in their antics.

No, he was just a little sadistic.

I could tell that from the way he told me to do stuff.

Example. Reinforcement. Usually I should start with non living objects to empower, before slowly moving on to my own body.

Instead, he forced me to reinforce my body from the get go and simply healed it in order to make me learn faster. Also, he only explained it to me once, in a very abridged version, before telling me to just do it.

Apply that spartan way on almost every other art and you would understand how the Kaleidoscope taught people.

Alchemy, Alteration, Runes, didn't matter.

One time telling me, risking my body at it, all while making mocking jokes.

No wonder most people broke under him.

But it was efficient. The crash course made me adept in most common magecraft basics and honestly, it was fun in a twisted kind of way.

And I managed to get on first name basis with him.

Calling him Kischur was weird though.

I also got to know way more about the Moonlit World. Its history and gimmicks in general.

During those lessons (mostly happening during physical training sadly), I asked him about the red shadow from when I woke up.

He became awfully quiet. Then he made me promise to never mention it ever again.

I promised and hoped whatever it was lost interest in me permanently.

Anyway, beside the usual stuff, I experimented on Heaven's Feel.

I managed to find out I had in fact infinite prana thanks to my soul control, but had a limited output. My sensing and effective range for my Magic was almost as big as the country of Germany. Though it was getting harder and harder to pinpoint stuff the wider I went. But I found out one good loophole in this rule.

If I had some kind of anchor, I could trace all relations to that one soul. Pretty handy.

But it didn't go too smoothly in all stuff.

Interactions with souls were a bit iffy. I had to make sure I was mentally strong enough to communicate with a spirit or else they would try to overpower me, if they were malicious enough.

Kischur managed to save me a few times, though he tripled the training as punishment for my lack of attention.

Also, during my experiments, my body blew up.

Guess it wasn't made to handle the kind of training I did. Or Install, the art of summoning a Heroic Spirit into my body.

Probably Install.

Cu Chulainn was not amused to be thrown back into the Throne like that. Nor was the vampire, when he realized that I couldn't do conventional training, since it wouldn't have a purpose on a transcended soul like me.

Because of that, he decided to quickly adapt to it and find out how tough I was in soul form.

Answer, a lot.

I could tank several A-Rank spells from him and still survive. Sure, a few building busting attacks at once hurt a lot once he found out how to affect me directly and I was the soul equivalent of mangled, but I quickly recovered in mere seconds.

Offense wise, I had a much higher output than in my mortal body, able to shoot out more attacks than the Kaleidoscope himself. They were even more potent, despite being a bit crude in execution.

Considering that Kischur needed special magecraft abilities just to hurt me, there wasn't much that could defeat me in this world.

It was tempting to just stay here and mock others while beating them up. But I managed to erase such thoughts when I realized I had them in the first place.

The Third Magic was very tempting.

With the limiters in place, I wasn't going on the same power trip like when I first got my powers, but it still made me feel...non human.

Luckily Kischur promised me to get some spare bodies. The question was, from where, but he didn't tell me.

Anyway, with the experiments and basics down, I could finally get to doing my part of the deal.

Getting the Heroic Spirits needed to get the job done.

Which meant going to the Throne of Heroes and recruit them for maximum synchronicity rate.

With the small time I spent with the Lancer before my body got ripped to shreds, I could feel how I could only access a fraction of his powers, because I kind of Installed him without forewarning. Basically broke into his room and kidnapped him.

Suffice to say, it didn't make for good impression and therefore diminished the Install potential greatly.

Therefore, I needed the full approval from the Spirits to get full powers. At least I assumed that the same rules went for summoning as well.

So yeah, Heroes of ancient times, while I was a normal eighteen year old guy. No big deal.

I was a little nervous, naturally.

Anyway, it was my first time actually going to the Throne and it was not as I expected.

The Throne of Heroes was wonky as fuck on first glance.

It wasn't even a throne, it was just that weird mix of millions kind of different prana signatures in one metaphysical plane.

Thankfully, it didn't stay that way and became something that I could interact with much, much easier.

On the other hand, the way the Throne decided to appear was wonky itself.

It became a weird, magic dimensional equivalent of a...hotel.

I wish I was kidding.

Decorated in golden walls and red carpets, it looked like the kind of hotel that rich people went to for fancy parties. The reception was completely empty, but it had a guest book.

A very thick guest book. When I looked into it, I found it listed all the heroes.

Every. Single. One.

Dunno if it only looked like that to me because it adapted to my mortal mind or not.

Anyway, I had to go through the name list and then follow the instructions to get to their specific hallway and then the door.

Knocking in order to recruit some heroes was very weird.

It was very frustrating to spend what felt like hours to think of heroes that could help me out.

Before you ask, Zelretch forced me to find my own solution, since it wouldn't be very fair, according to his own words, if he had to help for my part of the deal as well.

Jackass had a point.

Thankfully, with my memories, I could think of a few solutions.

First of was actually someone who just a simple mortal in life, but became deified after death thanks to his accomplishments.

One of the first architect, engineers and doctors in humanity's history. Imhotep.

The main reason I picked him first was because I had to identify the actual problem of Kischur's injury. And why not get the best doctor on this throne to diagnose this?

The man was quiet polite and pleasant, who actually looked forward to such a challenge.

The Kaleidoscope was not a very common thing to research about, so the plain looking Egyptian was rather giddy about the challenge.

And boy, did he succeed.

Heroic Spirits were broken.

With the mass knowledge of the Throne itself, the man had all resources to make a solid diagnosis on the cause of Kischur's weakness.

After analyzing the injury and giving me a lot of complicated medicine talk during that, he gave me certain instructions based on the list of other heroes I had in mind in order to solve this.

With the diagnosis, I went on to get one of the major preperation stones for my plan.

A master in runes. And nobody was better in runes than the Irish themselves.

At least from the top of my head.

In order to get the best teachings, I went to Aife, the Queen of Warriros and sister of Scathach.

And before you ask, Scathach wasn't on the Throne of Heroes, because of her whole ascension bullshit. Next best expert on runes was her sister.

Even though she was more of a warrior and the worse rune user, she was still a knowledgeable master.

And I could confirm she could beat her sister at least seven out of ten times. Overpowered didn't even describe her.

Also, very harsh in her teachings.

I could confirm that Heroic Spirits could harm each other in the Throne of Heroes. They just couldn't die.

Anyway, she looked similar to her sister. Red eyes, dark reddish, short hair and a similar body suit apparently all Irish wore. Though it was a bit more modest than her sisters, with way more padding to make it less...revealing. And it was more brownish, for some reason.

She was very gruff and tomboyish overall, but taught me when she found out how I summoned the guy who beat her in an unfair manner just to have him experience the pain of a body exploding.

A very womanly laugh escaped her back then, which made her blush then and made me swear secrecy with a lot of killing intent.

Still, I made her day and she taught me in the usage of runes, mainly in the ones of healing.

Compared to the way I learned before, it was like she shoved the knowledge right into my brain and nailed it down.

It was a pity not many remember her, because she was a damn good teacher.

I think she took a liking to me by the end of it, because she acted more like a mother figure to me than before. Still a tomboy though.

Before I could leave however, she made one request for me.

"Please kill my sister."

When she uttered those words out, plead barely a whisper, I thought my ears were broken.

The literal incarnation of victory, an ascended being.

And I should kill her somehow.

When I questioned why she would want her dead, she sent me her infamous death glare.

"She fought long enough. She deserved to rest right here next to me," she muttered quietly.

We didn't talk about it any longer, but I realized how much she loved her sister, despite their differences. And since she couldn't save her...Aife gave the duty over to someone who potentially could

Still, I put this on the very bottom of my checklist. It would be very hard to accomplish that anyway, even with Heaven's Feel. Scathach killed monsters and gods almost on a daily basis, I didn't think anything less than Ea could potentially kill her.

Also, mercy kills left a sour taste in my mouth.

Moving on from that, I had one last person to get.

I got the internist and one of the machines for the operating room ticked of my list so to say.

Now I had to get the surgeon.

Only one person came into question in my head and it was the one person I was afraid of the most.

Medea. The Witch of Betrayal.

If someone could brew up a potion or use magical means to heal Zelretch, it was her. Divine Words were one of the key parts I needed and she had them.

Imhotep could use Divine Words as well, but after comparing it to Medea, the latter had way more experience in using magic. Magecraft. Whatever.

When we first met, I could feel how she was analyzing me, to find out a way to use me for her own gains. When she let out a sigh, I could tell how she lost almost all motivation to even interact with me. Still, she was courteous enough to hear me out.

There wasn't a hint of interest when I explained to her that I needed her service in order to cure Kischur and she refused at first.

But after I told her I wanted to go back to my safe old days, as much as possible anyway, she became awfully quiet. Then she suddenly agreed with the summoning, her expression completely hidden by her black hood.

I think I hit a nerve with the whole, wanting to go back thing. For what reason, I didn't know. Not very sure on that. Well, at least I didn't had to force her to help me.

With that, I returned to the living world and summoned in order to use her abilities.

Lucky for me, the Counter Force did not drop the hammer on me when I summoned her. But I could notice just how much prana she sapped from me just in order to exist in the real world.

Anyway, I summoned her a few times, so that she could plan out the whole healing thing. During all that, we got to know each other. For better or for worse.

She was slightly creepy. And I felt she would slit my soul throat every time I turned my back to her or let her into my...well, not body, but soul.

Also, the Caster constantly threw me weird stares. I assumed she was looking out for any kind of betrayal.

Not that I would have done that, but I guess her legend made her paranoid as hell.

Still, Medea was rather pleasant, once you get past the suspicious personality. We even managed to make some casual banter and she had at least a little sense of humor.

Perhaps she realized it wouldn't help her to betray me, since it would only get her back to the Throne or worse. She was very aware of the Counter Force and wouldn't want to risk it by using me to reincarnate again or similar. Because of that, she was very cooperative.

At least I thought so. Maybe she helped me out because she was just bored. Or the empathy thing I mentioned earlier was the reason.

Anyway, it took me another five months just to get the preperations done, but I could say that I was ready.

Which brought us back to this moment.

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere of Europe, we were surrounded by no civilization in miles as trees were our only companions.

The Kaleidoscope sat in the lotus seat position, surrounded by a runic field, as Medea made the finishing touches in a cauldron.

The Greek woman didn't talk at all, abruptly stopping the casual conversation about her early life and potion brewing days when the Sorcerer teleported in.

Memo to self, Medea was very shy around strangers when not in life and death situations. Either that or she went back into "expect betrayal at all times" mode.

Either way, the old man in front of me pouted like a child, grumbling impatiently as he tapped his left arm.

"I hope I get ice cream when this is done."

I rubbed my face and groaned at his childish muttering.

"Don't expect it from me, I'm broke," I replied dryly.

Kischur chuckled for a moment, before sobering up. After taking another of his million glances at Medea, he turned to me and sighed.

"Could you at least explain how this will work?" He asked while gesturing at the whole set up.

I shrugged and began to pace around the runic circle.

"First of all, this is not viable to anyone without a near infinite amount of prana," I explained in a lecturing tone, raising my finger. Kischu just dryly stares at me.

"So...us."

"Yup," I replied in an equally flat tone. Then I cleared my throat.

"Anywho, Heroic Spirits I hired for this job. I contacted Imhotep to find out the main problem of your condition and a good approach to fix that. Think of him as an expert on magical inner medicine." When he nodded, I continued on, pointing at the runes. "Then I contacted Aife in order to create a better surgery room, with runes and all that."  
"I already tried runes, they don't work," the vampire interjected with a frown, but I waved him off.

"They are only there as amplifiers." I grinned and pointed at the Caster, who began to fill up a vial with her magic juice. "The main surgeon power comes from Medea."

Hearing her name, the Greek woman turned to me, with probably a raised eyebrow. I gave her a thumbs up.

"Really appreciate what you are doing."

Medea huffed in response, but I could see how her mouth corner twitched at the compliment. Then she carefully handed me the small bottle.

"It is done," she said in a professional tone and I nodded. Turning back to Kischur, I handed it over to him.

He eyed it in interest, observing it from all angles, before giving me a questioning look.

"Potion to make the healing stronger," I explained and he tilted his head in response.

"How many amplifier-"

"Last one," I quickly interrupted him. Then I pointed at Medea, who held her staff in front of her, face filled with focus. Well, mouth, but you get the point. "Now, she will speak some magical words and they should heal you the way Imhotep prognosis told me."

"It is not as crude as you describe it, but yes. I shall use my Divine Word Incanations to heal this man," the Caster responded dryly, as she sent me a flat stare, before letting out a sigh and turning back to her work.

"I am sitting right here," Kischur said slightly insulted. When Medea didn't react, he rolled his eyes before turning back to me with a slightly nervous expression. "So how likely is this going to work?"

"Very likely." I stopped for a moment before shrugging. "It might hurt a little though."

"You have a name for it?" The vampire asked dryly at my casualness of his potential suffering. I turned to Medea, who shrugged herself before focusing back on her own work, muttering like crazy in her ancient tongue.

By now, the circle began to softly glow.

"Not really. We just call it 'Healing spell for dead apostle suffering from overusage of the Kaleidoscope.'"

"That's a stupid name," my fellow Sorcerer said with a judging stare and I raised my hands in mock surrender.  
"Still accurate."

Before any of us could say anything more, the circle was exploding in a sudden light, prana filling the entire area.

Thank god we made a Bounded Field before hand or else Gaia or Alaya would be dropping hot fury already.

As I covered my eyes, I could feel the energies filling the area, that Medea's words and the spell set up caused. Carefully, I adjusted to the brightness and what I saw was a rainbow colored master piece.

Scratch rainbow, it was almost every color in existence.

And each color had one domain.

Healing. But it was more than that.

Completion. Optimization. Reversal. Harmony. Empowerment.

And a lot of other components I couldn't remember. Suffice to say, a lot of concepts were used to give Kischur a perfectly healthy body that wouldn't suffer any big consequences like he did from just overexerting himself against Crimson Moon.

A literal miracle was created in front of me, as Medea's words almost reached shout volume and the light began to intensify. The pure Magic created in front of me was stuff out of legends, my eyes in awe as I stared directly in the sight of the different powers mixing with each other to create a literal symphony.

It would have been more epic if Kischur wasn't groaning in discomfort all the time. Or if I wasn't in constant mild pain from the prana getting sucked out of me to support this event in happening in the first place.

After what felt like a short eternity, all the light began to vanish.

Then the entire circle blew up into a dust cloud.

Medea and I patiently waited for the dust to clear as our ragged breaths began to settle.

Then a voice that did not belong to Kischur spoke up from the cloud and the Caster and I looked at each other with a small gape.

If it were in another situation, it would have been funny to see the Witch of Betrayal gape at something, but right now my brain was busy rebooting.

No way.

"I'll be damned, it wo-" The young voice stopped momentarily, cheer replaced with confusion. "Why does my voice sound so weird?"

The silhouette began to leave the dust cloud, slightly coughing.

When we could finally see the figure's full body, my jaw dropped completely.

"Holy fuck," I managed to speak out in a shocked tone.

"Oh my."

I could swear that Medea was blushing slightly when she sat that, because when I turned to her, she suspiciously found the rock formation to the left very interesting.

Anywho, the reason for my reaction.

Good news, Kischur was healed.

Why I knew that?

He became a goddamn bishounen.

Not a single facial hair was on his smooth face, as he rubbed his chin. His hair, now short, was shining like silver in the moon light. And he was very well toned, muscles decorating his body. Not overly so, but enough to call him very handsome. Because of that, his clothes were a little too big for him.

It was like I was looking at his grandson.

"I did not expect this," the young Kischur said in an astounded tone as he admired himself in a mirror he projected.

"Neither did we," I replied in an equally thunderstruck manner, nodding dumbly as my eyes processed the picture in front of me.

"Unexpected side effects. But not negative." Medea cleared her throat, shaking me out of my awe and turned to me as she bowed in courtesy. "I shall take my leave then."

"Thanks for everything. Maybe talk to you later," I replied in a cheerful tone and bowed slightly as well.

"It was...a nice change of pace."

With that, I released my hold on her and she vanished in the air, returning to the Throne of Heroes. I let out a relieved sigh, the pressure of keeping her on the real world lifted from my soul.

But I hummed in thought.

I had the strange feeling she was embarrassed.

…

Nah, that couldn't be.

Turning back to Kischur, I saw his bishounen self grin widely as he flexed his body, doing very stupid poses.

"How do you feel?" I asked in slight amusement. Hearing my voice, he stopped what he was doing and turned to me, hands on his hips as his grin threatened to split his body.

I could see his sharp vampire teeth glittering.

"Better than ever! I feel like I can take on the damn moon man again and this time without having a hard time!" He summoned up a small energy ball in his right hand, with the colors of a Kaleidoscope, before making it vanish. "It's like I got an overall 400 percent increase in performance! And I look hot on top of that!"

Then, he picked up his walking stick, before making it vanish to somewhere. After that, he ran towards me and crushed me into a bear hug before I could react in time.

"I never felt so alive since ages!" He exclaimed in glee. I would have shared that happiness, but instead I let out a strangled groan.

He quickly let go and at least had a sheepish expression on his face as I bend forwards to get my soul body back in place.

"If I weren't a super powered soul, you would have snapped my back ten times over."

After I managed to get back into normal body shape, the vampire chuckled awkwardly as he scratched his cheek.

"Sorry. Gotta get used to my new body." He paused for a moment and his smile became softer. "But seriously...thank you."

"Thank me by doing the second part of the deal." I awkwardly cleared my throat as my cheeks heated up and looked away. "D-did you find a way to fix my body problem?"  
"Technically. One question." Kischur's trademark mischievous grin graced his face. "Can you speak German?"

"...We are going to see the Einzbern, aren't we?" When he nodded at my blank question, I let out a sigh before nodding as well. "Yes. Yes, I can."

"Good, so I don't need to jam the language in your head like Japanese."

I frowned at his joyful reply

"That still hurt like a bitch," I mumbled in annoyance, but he ignored it as he prepared some kind of warp portal in a few seconds.  
Judging from his childish giggle, I assumed he couldn't do that so easily in the past.

"But before that, I need to make a stop at a clothing shop!" He exclaimed in an exciting tone before ushering me in.

Though I rolled my eyes, I was happy that I could help it. The sense of accomplishment felt...nice.

/

Why did the Einzbern family have to be located in the tundra regions of Europe?

Despite the thick bear coat I wore, my nose was still running as I hugged myself in order to stop the shivering and the cold latching on my body.

The body the Einzbern gave me via Kischur. I still had to get used to a body more powerful than a human being, but I was glad to have a body in the first place.

It was the first thing my fellow Sorcerer did before bringing me here, going to Jubstacheit, eighth head of the Einzbern family himself to get me a body.

Kischur didn't tell anyone of the Einzbern the reason for getting the body and kept being quiet when I finally took me with him to visit them.

The moment we arrived, he left with old Jubba to a private room, leaving me alone with the dozens of other homunculi of the castle.

Since it was done in secret, most residents in this building didn't know much about me except for the fact that I was one of their head's personal creations.

The worse was that all of them acted like damn drones. Sure, some of them talked with each other in somewhat a human way, laughing, scoffing and the like, but it was faked. Most of them however, were just staring blankly around the big room.

Speaking of room, the room I was currently in was definitely used for royal parties or similar stuff.

Bright red and golden colors decorated the area, while a bunch of chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The room was void from any furniture, making enough room for over hundred people maybe. The ground had nice patterns and the windows were clean and beautiful too.

On the other end of the room were gigantic stairs leading up to a overstyled, mamor balcony, overseeing the entire area.

Probably for power play sakes.

Overall, a nice party room in theory.

Naturally, I was suffocating in this place, so I made sure to be very far away from all the people. I was in the corner farthest away from the balcony, lonely sitting on a chair I snatched away from the entrance room.

For at least twenty minutes I've been sitting at my little corner, trying to warm my body up with the tools at my disposal, meaning shivering, clothing and a little bit of magecraft. It spoke volumes of the cold that my teeth are still shaking a little.

At least I was confident enough to hold conversations if needed. And I needed it very soon, because one individual began to approach me.

Thankfully it was the one who I knew had human emotions. With a cheerful smile on her face, the albino beauty stopped right in front of me, hands politely folded in front of her as she tilted her head, her long white hair swaying with the motion.

"How are you doing? It must be hard to be surrounded by so many strangers."

I chuckled weakly to her concern.

"Could be worse...They all could start talking to me at once."

She giggled at my dry answer and crossed her arms.

"Well, then I will make sure I am the only one you will have to talk to for now."

"It would be a blessing." A extended my shaking hand. "Obsidian Noir."

"Irisviel von Einzbern." she replied as she shook my hand with her own, rather warm hand. After letting go, she leaned against the wall next to me. "What brings you here? And if I may ask, who was that man with you?"

"Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg." As Irisviel began to gape at my blank response, I chuckled and nodded. "Yes, that guy."

For a while, the homunculus opened and closed her mouth a couple in times as her brain restarted and it took a lot out of me not to break out into laughing.

As she took a deep breath to calm herself, my lips were drawing blood from me biting them.

"I thought that the Kaleidoscope was an old man," Irisviel evenly said in the end, her smile returning to her face. Though I could feel some displeasure of me dropping that bomb.

Time for some secrecy then, I gleefully thought.

"He used to be. I...fixed it so to say," I said, trying to sound casual as I put my right leg on my left one.

As her eyes began to sparkle in excitement, I suppressed the urge to grin.

"Oh my, I thought his wounds from his fight against Crimson Moon were too great to solve with magecraft?" She asked gleefully, leaning forward with her...well curved body.

"Yeah...Let's say I found some methods nobody found yet," I said nonchalantly, pretending to check my finger nails.

Irisviel's childish, cute pout was my reward for my act.

"Okay, now you have to tell me more. You made me too curious!" She huffed annoyed as she backed off, putting her hands on her hips. I at last chuckled in response and wiggled with my index finger.

"You will know later. I promise. But until then, it's my little secret." As her head hung low, but accepted my decision with a sigh, I warmed up my hands with my breath. Rubbing them together, I cleared my throat. "So...how is...married life like?"

With that, her mood did a full turn as she visibly brightened up and excitedly told me about how great having a family was and how wonderful her husband was, with lots of stuttering and blushing included.

It snowballed from there, the two of us sharing some casual stories about our families and home life. Though I limited myself to my hobbies and experiences in the Nasuverse.

Old life was over and all that. No need to dwell on it.

Anyway, if it weren't for Third magic confidence, there was no way I could have hold that entire conversation with such ease. Oh, and Irisviel's natural conversation skills, but I shouldn't need to speak that fact out loud.

"...Speaking of them, there they are!"

Breaking the flow with her cheerful exclamation, I turned my head to where she pointed and couldn't help but gulp nervously.

A man in a black suit and trenchcoat, frizzy, spiky dark hair that seemed to slightly defy physics, stared at me with cold calculating eyes, fatherly cheer all gone the moment he laid his gaze on me.

Kiritsugu Emiya. The Magus Killer. A skilled assasin that was the representation of "The few for the many" mentality. The one who wished to be a hero, but didn't know how.

Honestly, if I were a mere mortal, he would be one of the scariest people to be around. Even with Third Magic, he was creeping me out.

But it was not he who I was afraid of the most.

A mini version of Irisviel ran towards my position in joy, some wooden butterfly in her hand.

The moment the little girl reached her mother, jumping into her arms and hugging her, I froze up quicker than the German tundra could ever dream of.

When the two homunculi stopped hugging each other, the little girl smiled innocently, ignorant of her father's blank look directed to me and presented the wooden sculpture.

"Mama! Look, Kiritsugu helped me make this!"

Said mother cooed in delight, observing her child's very well made work, before returning it and patting the girl's head.

"Oh, this is so good! Thank you!"

As the two of them giggle, I made sure to make a lot of distance between me and Illyasviel, before acknowledging Kiritsugu with a nervous smile. The latter's cold stare changed to a confused frown at me not reacting to his rather unsettling action.

To my misfortune, Irisviel turned her attention back to me and gestured towards her family in a cheerful tone, ignoring my discomfort.

"Obsidian, Kiritsugu Emiya and Illyasviel von Einzbern. Kiritsugu, Illya, Obsidian Noir. He is a guest that came with the Kaleidoscope for some business."

I waved lamely when she finished.

"I see," Kiritsugu said evenly after a small pause, probably not sure what to make out of me.

Illya on the other hand kept staring at me with squinted eyes, walking around me as if I was some animal.

A child was walking around me, in my personal space. My mortal enemy.

I took a deep breath, while trying to be subtle. The way Irisviel shot me a worried look, while her family raised their eyebrows told me I failed at it.

Okay, I had to be smooth here if I wanted to make a better impression and make the little girl go away.

"Heeeeyyy….small...girl...you..." I slowly ground through my teeth, the most fake smile appearing on my face ever since I arrived here.

While I could swear that her parents were choking back a laugh, the small homunculus stared at me with full, judging eyes, squinting even harder than before.

"You're weird," she at last said in an overly suspecting tone. A strained chuckle escaped me, as I sent a pleading look at her parents.

They were more content on talking to each other while enjoying the show in front of them.

"I...know," I said with a sigh, seeing that they have abandoned me to my fate. "Sooooo…" The fake smile back on my face, I tried to casually lean back on my chair to look cool. "How's it going, little...princess?"

Of course, that was the moment when she turned around and crossed her arms, huffing at my pathetic display and stared at her father.

"Kiritsugu, he's boring! Let's play!" She exclaimed and tugged at Kiritsugu's sleeve, jabbing metaphorical daggers into my heart in the meanwhile. But I didn't let it show on my face, instead rubbing my face as I felt exhausted from that small exchange.

When I raised my head again, the assassin hesitant to go with his daughter, glancing at me first, then to his wife with a frown.

Irisviel nodded to her husband with a soft smile. That assured him enough, as he let out a sigh and warmly smiled at his little daughter.

"Ahaha...If you insist."

With those words, father and daughter left the same way they came, leaving me alone with Irisviel, whose cheeks were puffed up and red, as she held her breath.

"Cute kid," I lamely said with a blush, averting my eyes when the woman broke out into open giggles, holding her stomach for a while.

"Not good with children?" She asked after calming down. I nodded weakly, burrowing my face into my hands. Then I felt a gentle squeeze on my shoulder and looked up to see Irisviel's warm smile again. "Well, it reassures me that you act like a normal teenager."

"I am eighteen, just so you know," I grumbled out, crossing my arms with a pout. As her amusement grew, I turned back to the door where her family went through with a frown. "I hope that your husband doesn't want to shoot me or something."

"He wouldn't do that!" After her exclamation, she paused for a moment, then laughed nervously. "Well, as long as you don't give him a good reason."

That did not fill me with confidence and I showed it on my face. She winced in sympathy, but before she could say something, the gates near the balcony opened. I straightened up and saw Kischur enter the giant room, together with the old leader of the family.

The latter looked rather grim, compared to my friend's shit eating grim.

I sweat nervously.

It couldn't be that world breaking, right?

/

It was very world breaking.

Old Jubba informed the entire clan of my abilities and made a speech of how their ancient goal was finally reached. But it was not that what broke my mind back then.

I was the official head of the Einzbern family, Obsidian Noir von Einzbern now. Apparently the whole family were under a geass to follow every order of Heaven's Feel, should he or she ever return. Since I was Heaven's Feel now, my word was absolute.

Acht was not happy about it at all and swore to me in private that he would find a way to rip the Third Magic out of my soul if he had to if I ever took it away again.

To be honest, he was more polite than I expected when he threatened me.

On the other hand, Irisviel was very ecstatic to have a little brother and openly accepted me into the family. Well, after I apologized for hiding the family heirloom, so to say.

Anyway, instead of the quick visit I imagiend it would be, I had to stay to deal with all the formalities and paperwork.

It was a major pain in my ass, even with the computer aid Kiritsugu thankfully provided.

Kischur had to leave in the meantime, saying that he had a lot of people to inform and said he would be back in a week.

It was a long week.

But I could say for sure I became good friends with Irisviel and the others. The former was easily excited by most stuff and it infected me. She was dead set on becoming like a sister to me and she succeeded, making sure I ate properly and ordered tons of clothing for me to look 'stylish'.

Her daughter was a little harder, but once she saw me getting along with her mother, Illya took that as a challenge and spent just as much time with me.

Suffice to say, we became gaming buddies, once I found out that they had a gaming console in the castle.

Let no one say that games were not a good ice breaker for me with children.

Lastly, Kiritsugu.

We weren't perfect brother in laws, but we could get along and stay civil with each other. Not that we talked much anyway and the silences were a little off putting. Naturally, I liked his daughter and wife more, but he felt the same, so no hard feelings there.

Kiritsugu didn't introduce Maiya to me, but I guess she wasn't interested or not in the general area for the week.

Once that week was over, the vampire returned at last from all his trips to finally keep his final part of the deal.

Getting me of this planet and grant me a safe sanctuary. Not that I would stay away forever, but I felt much, much happier to have a permanent residence outside this insane unisverse.

Kischur stood in front of the entrance gate with crossed arms, looking at me with cheerful expectation as I walked out with a lazy grin.

For once, it was a nice, sunny day. Still cold as hell, but I got used to it during that week.

"So, Lord von Einzbern. Ready to leave?" He asked, making emphasis to sound like a British butler as he bowed respectfully.

All I saw was mocking and I huffed as I put my hand on my left hip.

"Don't call me that, it sounds ridiculous."

He glanced up and raised an eyebrow with a grin.

"Not as ridiculous as Obsidian Noir."

"Fuck you!" I yelled, pouting at the insult. Kischur raised himself and waved his hand in front of him, smirk still in place.

"Sorry, not into young adults. Maybe when you are older."

As I spluttered for a while, causing him to laugh loudly, I heard footsteps behind me. Turning around, I saw Irisviel with her daughter in her arms, both grinning gleefully at my dispense, while Kiritsugu slowly trailed behind them, face in his usual stoic, but relaxed expression.

My face grew redder at their presence. Thankfully, my sister in law put her daughter down and turned to my fellow Sorcerer.

"Honestly, I expected the Kaleidoscope to be...different," she said in a respectful tone, successfully suppressing her amusement from my situation to an insignificant level. Kischur chuckled and bowed slightly.

"I work to impress." When he looked up, he raised an eyebrow. "Only you three?"

"The rest are still busy with your arrival and...orders," Irisviel chuckled, scratching her cheek in an awkward manner. I winced, considering it was my fault.

Maybe I shouldn't have made my first order in the first week I became their chief.

Granting homunculi sentient will and human emotions while securing their rights was a bitter bill for old Jubba to swallow and very complicated to accomplish. But my word had priority, so he was forced to do it anyway.

I felt kind of sorry for the old man and everyone involved. On the other hand, I could not deal with a bunch of near emotionless puppets around me all the time. And I did not regret to fix that issue.

Already the Einzbern castle was more lively and soothed my nerves to talk and spend time with human beings, not robots.

Soon, all the homunculi would be like Illya, Iri, and Illya's future maids from the canon routes.

I could not wait to return for a vacation to see what would happen to them. But it was far off into the future.

Until then, safe haven for me out of this universe.

"I hope for your safety."

Iri's gentle and worrying voice shook me out of my musing and I smiled. Still, I pointed at me and Kischur with a small smirk.

"You are aware you talk to two Sorcerers, right?"

"It doesn't make you unbeatable," the mother said in unusual disapproval and my smile wavered slightly. Glancing at my Sorcerer buddy, I saw him agree with a shrug.

I averted my eyes. I knew she was right, but it was not pleasant to know you could still be defeated.

But it kept me to the ground, so I nodded as well in agreement.

Then my legs got tackled by the smaller albino. As I let out a surprised wow, trying to steady my footing, the little girl giggled as she looked up to me.

"Let's play again when you come back, Sid!"

I looked down, crossing my arms with a playful smile.

"Only if you stop whining about me winning."

"I don't whine! Tell him, Kiritsugu!" Illya shouted with a pout, punching my leg without causing any pain before pointing at me and turning to her father. Said father blinked for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Uhm...yes. She isn't whining," he said in a blank tone towards me.

"Sound more confident!" The little girl exclaimed angrily and that broke the dam for all of us to erupt into loud laughter.

While her parents ruffled her head playfully as her cheeks puffed up even more and Kischur was holding his stomach in pain, I shook my head.

Still, the little girl had a point though.

Kiritsugu could need all the confidence for the Holy Grail War-

I froze up, cheerfulness seeping out of my body. Everyone present immediately noticed, though Illya and Iri were more confused than on guard.

Wait, Holy Grail.

Angra Mainyu.

How could I forget that?

I took a deep breath. No need to panic.

"Can I talk to you three in private?" I asked, pointing behind me while trying to act casual. My acting became a lot better, since Illya didn't seem suspicious, but the adults could hear the urgency in my voice. The three of them nodded, before the mother gently smiled at her daughter.

"It won't take long. Be nice, okay?"

After the little girl nodded, the four adults including me went a few meters away from the entrance. Once we reached a good distance, I gestured them to lean in.

"The grail is cursed. Because of Avenger the Einzbern summoned the last war." When shock began to settle into Illya's parent's faces, I stopped for a moment, scratching my chin. "At least I think it is. If I'm right, it will make sure to twist every wish to the biggest evil imaginable."

"Was wondering when you would spit it out," Kischur muttered back after a small window of silence. I and my siblings in law turned to him in confusion.

"You knew?" I hissed with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged in response.

"Not exactly, but what you said back then when we first met was really weird." His trademark, challenging grin was directed to me. "Let's fix that real quick before leaving then."

"Dude, I don't even have a year of a training under my belt!" I exclaimed while trying to keep the volume down. The vampire handwaved my concern away.

"Good enough for me. Don't worry, it's just a servant on grail steroids. You cut his connection while I cover you and all will be well."

I groaned at his casualness, but before I could object, Kiritsugu's eye met mine.

And they were full with worry.

"Will it still be able to grant wishes?" Despite his even voice, I could hear the despair creeping into it. And I bit my lip.

His dream to save the world. That was what he was concerned. Irisviel had the same look of worry.

"As much as it could before corruption, yes," I said after a small silence, hesitation in my voice as I began to curse my own cowardice. The guilt burned even harder when the two of them let out a breath of relief.

"Good...good..." Kiritsugu shook his head and a wry smile was sent my way. "As much as I didn't show it...It was...nice spending time with you."

He extended his hand for me to shake and I stared at it for a moment.

"You are not much for social stuff, huh?" I couldn't help but snark playfully back. The man scoffed in return.

"And you?"

"Point," I replied with a shrug and accepted the handshake. Immediately after that, I shared a hug with Irisviel.

After that, the parents returned to their daughter and waved to me and Kischur. I waved back, forcing cheerfulness on my face.

"Goodbye! I'll come visit you, I promise!"

Shouting done, we turned around, the same time my family closed the gates and began to walk of into the forest so that we wouldn't be intterupted.

Once we reached a good distance, castle barely visible, I turned around to the slower walking vampire, snarl on my face.

"Why didn't you tell him?!" I hissed to my friend, knowing for sure Kiritsugu saw past my word choice back then, but ignored it in favor for his own, false hope.  
"Technically, you are his family. You tell him," Kischur said in a cold tone and I ruffed my hair in anger, pacing around in the snow.

Not calming down in the slightest, I turned back to the unimpressed Sorcerer and threw my arms into the air.

"What, tell him his wish is a pipe dream and everything he did so far was pointless?!" I screamed, but only received a blank stare as a response. I spit to the ground and began to count to ten.

Getting to angry won't help me. But it was still frustrating.

Once my breath began to calm down, Kischur put his hand on my shoulder, empathy on his face when I turned to him.

"He still has his family, you know? Just try to break it to him gently," he said in a calm tone.

"Can I do that later?" I whispered and when he stared at me dryly, my voice increased in pleading. "Much later?"

The vampire let out a sigh and let go of my shoulder

"Fine. But you can't puss out all the time." He raised his finger with a frown. "Before the war begins."

"I know, I know..." I muttered, before grabbing on his shoulder for the teleportation.

I couldn't believe I said it, but I was looking forward to fighting a super monster, if only to distract myself of my future responsibility.

If only the warping didn't make me sick...

/

The side trip to Fuyuki City was a fast one and I had to wait for a few hours while Kischur told the local families, Tohsaka and Matou, about what we planned to do.

Didn't know what happened and didn't really care. Once he finally came back, we got to the cite of the Greater Grail, in the cave of the city.

As if sensing our approach, Angra Mainyu was not pleased with us and tapped onto the local leylines to summon his grotesque shadows, filled with the world's evil.

Unfortunately for him, he had to deal with not only one Sorcerer, but two. If someone like Rin could cut her way through with the Jewel Sword, it was child's play with me and Kischur.

Carving a way through the army was a long and gruesome procedure, the two of us making sure not to touch a singly smudge of the goo. And we weren't even done there.

I still had to get rid of Avenger, which meant I had to focus entirely on the evil spirit.

It was like getting rid of a virus from a computer program. With me having the experience of a first year college student.

It still worked out. Zelretch covered my ass, using dozens of new applications of the Kaleidoscope like curving attacks, energy balls passing portals to trick them and a lot of other stuff. Thanks to his enhancements, he could pull all of that off without creating the same injury like against Crimson Moon.

Meanwhile I...hacked into the grail so to say to purge it. It was rather tough, but the spirit had no change against me, who was the fucking Heaven's Feel.

Boasting that out loud was more embarrassing than I thought though.

Anyway, I was reasonably sure we got rid of the black mud and Angra Mainyu after what felt like hours.

The Holy Grail should be clean and solid to work in the next war, even when the leylines were slightly exhausted from the combat.

Which meant no psycho Caster or corruption or world ending potential on its own.

Yay.

Anyway, with that done, I did my job in this world for now.

It was time to leave.

We were standing at the same spot where I arrived at first in the Nasuverse, meeting up after a day of rest.

Suffice to say, I was rather giddy to get this done and Kischur was visibly amused as he stood in front of me, hands crossed behind his back as I tried to not move my leg around too much as I sat in front of him on the stone.

I failed.

"I have good news and bad news. Good news are, I found a world for your standards. Not invadeable by aliens or something like that because a big dragon acts like a guardian. No one knows about Heaven's Feel there and it's relatively peaceful as far as I could see." I nodded in excitement, but then he raised his hand with a serious expression. "Bad news, it's very hard to get there, because of said dragon and I wouldn't be surprised if you being there would cause some kind of magic jumpstart in that world."

I frowned slightly. I didn't plan to abuse my power anyway. But the guardian worried me.

"If it's that hard to get there, how did you pass the dragon?" I asked, crossing my arms with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, about that..." Kischur scratched his hair awkwardly with a wry grin. "I brute forced my way through every time and ran away as fast as possible. Think the guy does not like me. At all."

I slightly gaped at him. Then I shook my head and waved my hand in front of me.

"Couldn't you just get in there by going to a universe where the dragon doesn't exist?" I asked in discomfort. My friend sighed in response.

"Problem is, the damn lizard exists everywhere. Or everywhere I was looking," he grumbled annoyed.

"Do we have to go that way?" I whined, my shoulder slumping.

Kischur patted my back a few times, shaking his head while shrugging.

"Well, that way, if you could talk about a way, is the shortest one I know. The other way, so to say, doesn't have any good places for...well, let's call them dimensional miles. It would take ages."

"So your plan is to crash through a dimensional gap, hope that a giant killer dragon won't see us, get the fuck out of there as fast as possible and reach our location, because that's how the multiversial highway works?" I asked in a dry tone, disbelief in my eyes.

"Essentially," the man replied with a chuckle and I raised my hand in surrender after standing up.

"Sure, why not."

Just as he was about to begin his work in amusement, I tugged at his sleeve while biting my lip in discomfort.

"Hey...Kischur." Having his attention, I averted my gaze and closed my eyes. "If I become too arrogant…call me by my real name."

For a while, he was silent. But then he hummed in thought. When I looked up, the vampire flashed me a wide grin.

"Hm, a safe word. Here I wondered when you finally decided to go deeper in our relationship."

"Phrasing," I grit through my teeth, my cheeks blushing slightly. His grin only grew wider.

"On purpose."

I rolled my eyes and that was the trigger for his explosive laughter.

Still, I knew he took me serious. I could see it in his eyes. I spent enough time with him to tell by now. Because of that, I managed to laugh with him, just like a friend.

Wonder if others felt like this. To feel at ease.

Still, everything had to end, so the two of us finally calm down.

"Let's get down to business." As he put his hands in front of him and called on the Second Magic, he directed his most serious frown at me. "Whatever happens, follow my lead. Don't do anything on your own, alright?"

When I agreed with a thumbs up, he let out a breath, before creating the gateway through the dimensions. Then he gestured with his hand to me and I put my hand on his shoulder.

Finally, the two of us took a step inside, hope dwelling up in my chest that I could get away from all the supernatural chaos.

The moment we entered through the portal, things went wrong however.

I could have described the place we were in, the colors resembling the ones that appeared in Kischur's Magic. I could have described the feeling of void I felt in this gap.

But I could not, because there was one supreme thing that had all of my attention.

A gigantic, red western dragon, easily bigger than skyscrapers glared down on us, mere meters away from us as its angry snort created a strong gust. His mere presence overpowered anything I ever felt before.

It was like being a rat in front of a hippo.

We blinked at it. Then we blinked at each other. Then we blinked back at it. It blinked back at us.

I let out an impressed "huh".

So that's what it felt like to be fucked.

I snapped my head to Kischur, who made the same, quick motion. We gulped at the same time, but it was my friend who shook himself out of his shock in seconds and grinned.

It was a strained grin, putting me on edge even more.

The next thing I knew was that he teleported us miles away, while a gigantic explosion shook the air. Slowly turning my head, I could feel the pure, raw energy the dragon roared out, easily surpassing any spell I experienced. That included my fellow Sorcerer as well.

And I could still see the red light flying off into the distance, easily passing miles in an instant. The fact that the dragon didn't even seem winded at all, as he turned to us, death promised to us in his eyes, I knew one thing for sure.

We were so going to die.

My fellow Sorcerer didn't waste any time and took of in supersonic speeds, grabbing me on my collar with him.

But despite the superhuman acceleration, I could see how the dragon rolled his eyes in annoyance and only flapped his wings once to shoot after us.

He was gaining distance faster than the Kaleidoscope could create.

Just as the phantasmal beast raised his claw to smack us down, I could feel my world shift as my vision became hazy.

The next thing I knew was that we were again, out of reach of the dragon, who swiped empty space.

The sheer force it created however was enough to off set the vampire's balance, so he had to create a small platform of prana to have an even footing. Then, a bright, colorful barrier formed in front of us as Kischur held his hands up before another dragon beam crashed against it.

I knew he wasn't blocking it, because I could see how the attack curved back to the giant beast, surprising it and hitting it for the first time since we got here.

As I hyperventilated and the dust created by the explosion covered the dragon, a cool, calculated look filled my fellow Sorcer's gaze. I noticed how his skin began to gain wrinkles, but I was more busy to panic.

"So much for pinpointing. Good luck!" Kischur quickly said, voice unusually grim when the dragon resurfaced out of the cloud, looking not even slightly damaged. It laid its eyes on us again, who cracked his neck, creating a loud boom noise.

"Wait, what?!" I yelled, still reeling from the fact that we could have died several times already. Instead of an explanation, the Kaleidoscope laid his hand on my chest.

"I'll come back for you. Try not to die," the man said, smiling reassuringly, before he pushed me.

I had a sense of deja vu, as I screamed while flying like a cannonball through the chaotic gap, before darkness engulfed, only seeing Kischur raised his hands, just in time as the dragon opened its jaw again to let out another stream of pure destruction.

/

I didn't remember the crash. All I could remember was pain and on my knees, head hitting against the ground to replace the terrible suffering I was in. But the pain in body could not compare to the damage that was dealt to my soul at that moment.

Voices, dozens, hundreds, thousands of them invaded my mind.

All of the shouted, roared, demanding freedom, peace, revenge, solitude and million of other stuff in my head. Their voiced combined to a chaotic symphony of agony for me, as if someone was cutting away in my brain, my very soul.

I screamed as I clutched my head, screamed until my throat began to burn as I did my very best to silence them, to push them out of my head before I went insane.

After what felt like an eternity, I laid on the ground, blissful silence, rubbing my head to get the after pain away.

I gasped for air, trying to process what just happened.

We entered the gap, joking around before that. Then a giant dragon-

I stopped.

Kischur.

I scrambled up, frantically turning my head around.

I had to help him. As powerful as the Second Magic was, there was no way he could take on a goddamn dragon.

First, I needed to find out where I was. Maybe I could find a way to get back to him or to support him.

I was in some kind of back alley, trashcans scattered around me. Taking a closer look at the buildings, I could recognize the traditional Japanese style. In general, this place felt rather...old in comparison to Fuyuki City.

Still, I needed to know more, so I slowly stood up and sneaked towards the light. When I reached the end of the alley, I peaked out.

And my eyes widened in shock at what I saw.

Oh no.

A man, crying in terror, tried to crawl away. But he was swiftly grabbed on his leg, a demon like giant throwing him against the wall, splattering his body into a scarlet mist.

Quickly, I hid against the wall, dropping on my butt as I covered my mouth.

I didn't silence the voices.

I released them into the open.

I started a ghost apocalypse with my arrival.

To prove my theory, I opened my supernatural senses up to the world. And the pure spiritual power was suffocating.

Compared to Nasuverse, where everything felt rather subdued, trying to hide itself, this place was way too open with it. Prana was all over the place and it made me dizzy for the moment. There was only a little hint of hiding, the supernatural had too much of a presence here to make sense in a modern world.

But I grit my teeth and focused on what kind of souls were around me and what they did.

The feedback forced me to interrupt my analysis. But that mere moment was enough for me to stare open eyed and blankly to the wall.

Utter carnage unfolded around me, as souls terrorized the public, flying through the sky, crashing through buildings or attacking the people themselves.

And not all souls were human.

Oni like the one from before, kitsune, tengu, any youkai I could think of and more fought against everyone, madness written all over their faces, their chaos fueled by my Magic.

And I couldn't stop them. Not the way I was. Not safely.

I did what any other person would do in such a helpless scenario.

Facepalming.

/

AN:

This became way too big, even cutting off the Old Jubba scene and several dialogue pieces. I swear this is the longest chapter you will get for a lont time.


	10. Listen to your soul I

The victory celebration was a rather subdued occasion. Still, it was a happy party, Obsidian mused.

The adult himself didn't speak much with any of them, beside some casual small talk and jokes on Riser's costs. Most of the time, he only observed their interactions and stayed silent.

It was heartwarming to observe. From Rias' toast to her peerage and telling them how proud she was of them, to the idle talking and relaxed mood.

The toast was something most of her peerage needed. Their mood lightened up considerably when Rias took time to describe each ones importance in the fight at the time.

She was a good king, Obsidian thought. It didn't remove the doubts, but it lifted a weight of her peerage's shoulder. He could see that in their relaxed faces when they talked to each other with smiles.

There were three things that stood out to the adult in that party however.

First, the fact that Rias wanted to talk to him about his abilities. She wasn't flat out saying it, but the tone of her voice during their small talk and the specific looking stare she had were evidence enough.

Fair enough, Obsidian thought. He might as well give them a bone after everything that happened.

Anyway, second thing that stood out.

Issei was becoming a man. At least the adult hoped so.

He did witness how the boy was being flirted with back in Kyoto, but that was a little more superficial.

And the guy could not seal the damn deal.

This time however, Obsidian had more hopes. Because he could run away from kitsune he didn't know, but there was no way he could avoid two people in his peerage.

Asia and Rias specifically. The latter was getting overly touchy with him, blantantly flirting with him. The former got jealous by the latter's actions and tried to counteract that, sandwiching Issei between the two girls.

He looked like he was in heaven and hell respectively.

Naturally, Obsidian ignored the pleading look in his face. If he wanted to be a harem king, he gotta deal with it himself.

The third thing was the fact that Koneko stared at them weirdly and Obsidian had a small feeling why. It were glances only, but she did it often enough to warrant suspicion.

He needed to talk to the youkai, sooner or later.

It was due time anyway. Like, at least a year.

Anyway, it was a fun party that went on until midnight or so.

Which led us to this moment, where Obsidian yawned loudly in annoyance as he scratched his tummy under his black full body pyjama, while glaring at Issei in his school uniform.

Said pervert sat in seiza and shrunk at the cold stare of his friend.

Both of them had to suppress a shiver. It was a little cold on his garden, with only grass and a tree house.

"You were there at the party. You know I am exhausted," the Vietnamese stated in a dry tone and the student scratched his head with an awkward grin.

"Sorry, but you are the only guy I knew in the area who could train me...So, no hard feelings?"

"Don't you train enough?" Obsidian asked in a flat tone. To his surprise however, the boy glared at him.

"Obviously not enough! I need to get stronger to protect my future harem! Last time was way too close, I have to make sure that won't happen again!" He exclaimed with passion and raised his left fist.

Good thing he put up a bounded field or Issei would have woken up the entire neighborhood, Obsidian mused.

Anyway, the adult groaned and scratched his hair in agitation.

"Couldn't that wait until, I don't know, afternoon? Instead to...seven in the morning? On a Sunday?" He glared at the clock and huffed, rubbing his eyes a little.

"It could, but..." Issei lowered his head in shame. "I feel so pumped up that I want to get started as soon as possible."

Obsidian bit his lip.

Damn it, he could not say no to this kid. The fact that he looked like a poor puppy made it harder to resist.

Still, he managed to prevail. Somewhat. That low self esteem had to go away.

Lazily scratching his head under his hood, the adult tilted his head.

"Didn't you take out a lot of people by yourselves? You make good progress already."

"I didn't beat Riser."

The student's low voice sounded borderline depressed, but also like a fact. Obsidian's face softened and crossed his arm.

"Issei-"

The boy shook his head, interrupting any cheering words that formed in the adults mouth. Issei let out a dark chuckle and stared at the ground.

"No, I get it. I shouldn't be too greedy with my achievements..." He let out a sigh and looked up, a sad smile on his face. "But one enemy I couldn't beat. One factor that I could have stopped from harming my friends and peerage."

Obsidian took a deep breath.

He hated that of Issei. The notion of the boy having to handle everything on his own or else he would feel like a failure.

The worst was, Issei had somewhat of a point.

If he beat Riser sooner, none of his peerage would have needed to suffer.

But in that way of thinking, hell awaited. No pun intended.

Last resort then.

Bluntness.

Going on his knees, Obsidian put a hand on Issei's shoulder with a wry smile.

"You really need to work on the self esteem." His expression softened up and squeezed Issei's shoulder a little, voice growing quieter as well. "You are strong. You always were."

"But it doesn't hurt to get stronger," Issei muttered weakly and Obsidian realized he wouldn't get through him. Not deep enough to matter.

Because this boy cared.

Sometimes, Obsidian believed, he cared too much. Issei would hurt himself by trying to shoulder all responsibility on himself. To not feel useless in his life and not lose the good life he had thus far.

Obsidian sighed.

He wouldn't be able to change his mind. It wasn't his job, but the job of other people.

All the adult could do was to make sure that he could do that...and help the teenager, whether he noticed or not.

Because that was his job as a friend and a pseudo mentor.

Healing, safety and making him feel better about himself in a less harmful way…

That was the job of family.

With that in mind, Obsidian cracked his neck and took a few steps back.

Issei raised his head and tilted his head in confusion.

A pervert shouldn't look this cute, the Sorcerer thought and cleared his throat, glancing to the side.

"You know what, sure. Maybe makes me awake. And would shut you up."

Dear lord, he became a tsundere.

Luckily Issei ignored his blush and obvious lie and stood up with a wide grin. Slapping Obsidian's back, the Sacred Gear user laughed loudly.

"I knew I could count on you!" After sharing a smile with his older friend, Issei took a step back, crossing his arms behind his head. "So...how are we going to do this? A karate master? A master magician! Oh, maybe a beautiful strategist with big boobs?!"

"None of that." After the boy's shoulders slumped slightly, Obsidian raised his finger with a smirk. "One hint. You have a dragon inside you."

"I don't-Oh no."

Dread filled the boy's face and the Sorcerer's grin grew wider.

"Therefore...I will train you like a dragon." Clapping his hand, the adult began to pace around in his garden. "Naturally, with a dragon. And I researched a bit into Ddraig. A lot of dragons he killed still hold grudges. And they would love to take it out on his host." His grin became a lot darker as he chuckled in an evil manner and stared at Issei. "You better learn how to do the dragon skin trick again."

"You just do that because it's faster, right?" The boy asked in a flat tone after a small pause and Obsidian shrugged.

"Hey, I already have an anchor point with you and nobody in the vicinity wants to fight you."

"That just means you're lazy!" Issei yelled and pointed at him angrily.

"We know each other for two years and you only figured that one out now?" Obsidian waved his right hand before extending said hand towards Issei, with the palm in front. "Seriously, if I extended my search area, it would become chat roulette. I would have to go through all the dicks first."

For a moment, the Sacred Gear user stared at his friend. Then he shook his head with a smirk and went into his fighting position, left hand gesturing Obsidian to him.

"Alright, bring it!" With that exclamation, Boosted Gear was summoned and the jewel glowed in excitement.

The adult mirrorer the excitement with the same grin and extended his bounded field in seconds. Then, magic power surged out of the Sorcerer as he held his right arm with his left hand on his biceps.

"Challenger number one is…!"


	11. Listen to your soul II

There were many events in Issei's life that hurt his body.

Most of them involved girls. Whether they were life and death chases, beat down punishments or plain normal incidents of Issei slipping up, sometimes literally.

Only Riser managed to trump the amount of punishment the dragons and by extension Obsidian dished out.

The dragons weren't some one would remember from legends. Since they didn't had one in the first place. Most of them lost their lives before stepping up onto the world stage.

Ninety percent of the dragons that were summoned were killed by Ddraig.

The latter didn't even remember their names, they were that generic to him.

Generic to the dragon emperor was not generic to Issei however.

They were still dragons. And they were pissed.

Hell, some of them were so pissed, they didn't introduce themselves at all.

Dragons on four legs, humanoid dragons, dragons with only wings as arms, serpent dragons, dragons that looked more like dinosaurs due to a lack of wings...All of those dragons, in various colors.

Issei could have sworn there was a pony dragon, but his memory was a little blurry.

Their names were a little weird to.

Blue, Lizard, Bob…

Maybe names were the reason they were considered weak in dragon terms?

However, as stupid as their names were, they still packed quite the punch compared to his puny new devil self.

You could give him a week and he wouldn't be able to finish the list of things that was done to him.

Punched, crushed, bitten, burned, electrocuted, almost drowned…

Obviously they held back or Issei would be dead again. It didn't change that they still wanted to hurt him and Sid did not restrict that desire of theirs.

Still, despite the pain, the teenager smiled weakly.

A new secret technique came out of it, in order to damage the hard hide most dragons had. He could not wait to use it.

"No chances of you renaming it?" Ddraig asked in exasperation. As Issei giggled in a perverted manner, the dragon inside of him let out a deep sigh. "Figures..."

Ddraig never understood his genius, the boy mused. Whatever. One day, his partner would see how great his ideas sometimes were!

"If that day comes, I am willing to throw the next fight against the White one, I tell you that," the soul of Boosted Gear growled in an aggravating manner and his wielder decided he poked enough against the powerful being and kept quiet.

Anyway, long story short, he was beaten to a bloody pulp, but also learned a lot.

Still, he needed to be carried to the school by his friend in form of piggy back ride.

It wasn't really embarrassing for the pervert.

Bro privilege, so it didn't bother him nor the adult.

Though Issei did take offense at the comment about his weight.

He was muscular, that was all!

Anyway, Issei's current state.

While his face and body were filled with bruises and wounds, his clothes were still clean.

Magic was bullshit.

Obsidian said something about a stealth spell that hid his wounds. When Issei asked him why he didn't just heal him, the adult said he was too lazy and Asia was better for the job.

The boy bit his lip at the thought.

He did not want to get punished for his training. Both, Rias and Asia, were always rather...stern when it came to his well being. He loved them for that, but seriously, he could do without the lectures and the feeling of shame for himself.

Either way, while he recounted the events, Issei finally arrived at the club house with Sid. After the latter knocked on the door, he opened it when Rias' voice called them to come in.

When they entered, the future harem king saw heaven.

The girls were there, yes.

They were also only in their underwear.

In. Their. Underwear.

Now Issei had experience in peeping.

But no experience could protect him from the elite picture he was shown.

Cute, sexy, embarrassed, confident, indignation, casualness it was mixed perfectly like a cake.

Everything a pervert like him dreamed of, all in one place.

His nose began to bleed more than from the dragons.

However, he would not faint by the beauty. Not yet.

He could not falter now. Issei needed to thank the one showing this masterwork.

Weakly, he grinned and raised his thumb at his carrier, who had a blank expression at the display in front of him and slowly turned his head to Issei.

"You truly are a bro, Sid. Nice! My pain already is gone!" He exclaimed happily, causing a chuckle from the more curved girls and an embarrassed "eep" and a deep, flushed frown by Asia and Koneko respectively.

Meanwhile, his carrier nodded slowly and began to smile.

It was not a nice smile.

"Let me fix that."

Before Issei could understand what he meant, he felt himself flying and crash down on the floor.

For a moment, the boy blinked in confusion.

Did...did Sid just throw him into the middle of the room?

The next moment, Issei was more busy groaning on the ground in pain from the impact, holding his body with closed eyes.

Ddraig's rumbling laughter did not help his condition at all.

Beside hearing some shuffling in the room, probably Asia and Rias going over to him with worry, he heard his older friend's dry voice sounding through the room.

"If you don't know, there are things called locks that could help prevent this stuff to happen."

"You seem grumpy today," Akeno said with slight amusement and a deep sigh came as a response. When the pain began to get better, Issei opened his eyes.

"Too soon on a Sunday. Blame him," the man said as he pointed at the boy.

At the same time, some magic energy radiated from the right finger and hit Issei like a small spit ball.

Suddenly, gasps sounded in the room and Issei frowned at the oh so innocent expression of the Sorcerer.

So Sid deactivated his concealment spell for the injuries. Cool, Issei mused dryly.

Now everyone could see how beaten up he actually was.

"Issei, what happened to your face?!"

The boy winced slightly at the loud exclamations, from Rias on the right and Asia on the left. Stereo yelling hurt.

Immediately, both of the girls glared at Sid, who already sat down on the couch with closed eyes and crossed his legs, while he leaned back.

Feeling the judgmental stares, he gave a shrug.

"Training."

The casual reply made his prez bristle up a bit and pointed at him in aggravation.

"He looks like he was used as a chew toy!"

Issei not so subtly observed how she...bounced.

Asia noticed too, because she slapped him on the back of his head and continued healing him.

In return, Sid let out a small laugh, shaking his head in amusement.

"Ha, that actually happened! Was pretty intense too." Then, he calmed down a bit and pointed at their general direction, still with closed eyes. "Anyway, clothes."

The girls stared down on themselves, blinking for a moment, as if they forgot about their appearance for a moment.

"Right," Rias said awkwardly and bit her lip.

Issei did not mind at all.

Koneko seemed to notice, because as she walked past him to get her clothes, she kicked him in the face for good measure.

Asia's objections did not come soon enough, as she had to heal his broken nose as well.

Still totally worth it.

As Issei stood up and thanked Asia for the healing, he could hear fast foot steps approaching from outside.

"I heard yelling, is everything alright?" Yuuto asked with great concern as he slid over the ground and stopped right at the door.

Depending on how one would look at it, he was fortunate that the girls were already dressed when he arrived.

Anyway, when the people in the room waved of his concern, Issei looked at Rias and Asia with worry as he took a seat next to Sid.

They had a good time together, so why did the two of them glare at him and then decide to ignore him?

Helplessly, Issei looked over to his adult friend, who in turn just gave him a stare of disappointment.

The boy bristled. What was he doing wrong?!

"You didn't seal the deal last night and the girls are angry because of it," Ddraig replied in a tone that suggested he was an idiot. This made Issei only get more frustrated as he glared down at his left arm.

What deal?!

"Oh my-Forget it! I let the Sorcerer deal with you!"

The boy shared the irritation the dragon had, though for different reasons.

What was he doing wrong?!

Before he could ask again however, he noticed how Koneko walked over to her usual seat, but stopped right in front of Sid. The man himself only raised an eyebrow at her, as they stared at each other in relative, long silence.

"You have a lot of energy," the small girl said quietly and Issei was not the only one who blinked at that statement besides the adult, who chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head a bit.

"Yeah...my wife said the same too." Then, he noticed the look of betrayal from the wielder of Boosted Gear and Sid frowned at him in response. "What?"

Tears flowed down from his eyes as he stood up and pointed at the husband with great despair and anger.

"Stop showing off with the fact that you have sex all the time!" Issei yelled in outrage.

It was the first time he saw Rias spit out a tea in shock, but he was more focused on the traitor in front of him!

Issei ignored that the entire room basically froze in time and stared at him with wide eyes and open mouths.

Sid recovered the fastest, closing his mouth in order to put up a chiding expression as he stared at Issei unamused.

"I am not showing off. Sorry if it sounded like that." Then, he raised a finger and jabbed Issei on his chest with a deep frown. "Also, we don't fuck every single day. Not as long as I have a say in it."

"I said all the time. Which means when she is there in the first place. And when she is there, you do it all the time!" The boy yelled back at his right seat neighbor, slamming his left hand down on the table.

The man opened his mouth, but then slowly closed it as he stared on the ground, blinking a few times.

The atmosphere felt a bit awkward, coupled with some coughing, but Issei was more interested in how his friend would defend himself here, crossing his arms with expectations.

"I cannot argue with that," he said in a surrendering tone, nodding to himself as he let out a sigh and let his arms hanging low limply.

"Damn you! How can you act like that's a bad-"

Before the Sacred Gear user could continue his rant, the man flicked his right hand for just an instance.

The next moment, Issei could not get one more word out, due to the fact that a thick layer of white silk like substance covered his mouth like a mask.

"Time out," he said dryly, making a snap with his fingers to separate a barely visible wire from his hand, like a puppeteer.

The boy growled as he clawed at the makeshift mask, to no avail.

Issei hated when Sid used his weird magic alchemy wires or whatever they were called!

"Anywho, how are you today?"

The other occupants blinked when Sid put up a friendly smile and turned to them.

His ability to change the subject was as subtle as always, Issei thought darkly.

Subtle like a UFO crashing down in a city, maybe.

The boy ceased his struggling by now and sunk into the couch with crossed arms and a pout.

Anyway, the Sorcerer's comment was enough to shake them out of their spectator trance and Akeno was the first to regain her wits as she chuckled as she stood behind her king.

"You are quite open about your love life."

"Desensitization is part of the program with these two idiots in my life," Sid replied with a casual shrug and Issei bristled again, breathing heavily through his noise.

"You are an idiot."

Issei swiftly ignored the dragon and threw his arms in the air, before sinking even deeper into the couch, crossing his arms.

No, he did not look like a child throwing a tantrum.

And he didn't blush as the other residents giggled a bit at his expense, Ddraig was lying!

However, the amusement immediately stopped when Rias cleared her throat and observed Sid with a neutral expression.

Nobody moved from their seats, though Issei shuffled uncomfortably in his place next to Sid.

He was the only one at his side, so it was a bit weird.

However, at least the peerage didn't gather around his master again, so staying here was okay, Issei assumed.

Still, despite the lack of a unified front, one could feel the shift of atmosphere from casual to professional with Rias' simple action of making a small sound.

His king was so awesome!

"Since we have celebrated already, it's time to get back to business...Meaning, you," she said in a calm tone and Sid crossed his arms, equally serious as her.

"My abilities, you mean," he clarified with a small frown. The king nodded as she put her left leg over her right one.

"You show a good grasp over magic, good enough to teach others. These...wires are only part of it. Normally that would be fine." She pointed at the adult with narrowed eyes. "However, you can talk with spirits. Like with Asia when she...was gone for a while. That changes quite a bit."

At that, the man hummed in thought, then looked at the nun in question.

"So you told them," he said in an even tone and when Asia averted her eyes in shame, he smiled at her gently. "I'm not mad. It was well within your right."

The girl weakly smiled back, but couldn't say more as Rias rubbed her chin with a "hm" noise.

"I take this as a confirmation then." She took a deep breath and leaned back. "Does that connect to your ability to summon...familiars?"

"You could say that," the man said slowly and when the king frowned at the vagueness, he sighed and folded his hands as he leaned forward. "Look, what I can tell you is that my ability is not connected with a Sacred Gear, as much as it seems like and that it has a connection with my communication powers. Anything more is...too dangerous for others to know."

"Dangerous for you or for us?" She asked with some skepticism and a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," Sid said in a grave tone, frowning deeply as he gestured with his folded hand at her. "I am not kidding that people would be willing to destroy entire countries for this kind of power. Hell, entire countries will be destroyed if worst comes to worst."

Issei gulped underneath his makeshift wire mask as the rest of his peerage widened their eyes at his words.

The man just admitted how dangerous he could be, in a way.

"Hence the secrecy," Rias said in an even tone and rubbed her forehead in slight irritation. "With all due respect, if you say something like that, my curiosity is quite hard to suppress."

The Sorcerer nodded at this and leaned back on his seat.

"I know. How about a consolation prize for not digging for more?"

The president froze in mid motion and slowly lowered her hand with a blank expression.

Issei on the other hand would have gaped at his friend.

Was he planning to bribe his master?!

"Depends on the prize," Rias asked after repositioning herself in her seat, only sounding mildly interested.

The Sorcerer grinned, apparently seeing more than the pervert did and leaned back, opening his arms to her.

"I'll offer my services so that you can talk with lost ones and I am willing to give general advice in soul and magic matters."

This time, Rias could not stop herself from widening her eyes in shock.

However, her reaction was the most subdued.

Asia covered her mouth with a gasp and Koneko actually dropped her sweat she was eating on.

The most extreme however, were Akeno and Yuuto. The latter looked like he was slapped in the face with a baseball bat, so much disbelief was in his face. The former on the other hand appeared to hold herself back not to jump on Sid and do something bad to him in order to get his services for herself. At least that was he thought, considering how hard her grip was on her own arm.

A certain...mix of hope and despair were in their eyes.

Issei wondered why.

Anyway, Rias finally managed to find her voice and slowly nodded, still trying to regain her composure after looking at her peerage in worry, especially at her queen and knight.

"That...would be a sufficient bribe. For now." Shaking her head, she steeled her features and stared grimly at the Sorcerer. "I cannot promise to keep you secret forever. I have my own duties."

"Just try to downplay me and I am happy," Sid replied with full understanding, crossing his arms again.

"I can try, but only because you helped Issei and us a lot." Rias paused after sigh and narrowed her eyes when she looked at her pawn. "Speaking of Issei, does he know?"

The pervert did not like how everyone's attention was focused on him and he began to sweat buckets.

He thanked the mouth guard, because he could not respond verbally to that question. And thankfully, he didn't need to respond in any other way, because Sid raised his arm protectively and bowed his head slightly.

"More than you do. But you have to understand...I know him better than you."

For a while, the king stared at the two of them with a frown. Issei felt bad as he lowered his head.

He did know more than them and keeping secrets was not the thing he wished to do. Still, his loyalty to his friend was also important and he understood the dangers of Sid's power. It was his decision and he decided that he wanted to keep it a secret.

It made the boy feel a bit...sad.

"It is my duty to know all about the residents in my area to make sure they are not a threat," Rias at last said. However, her features softened up, a sad smile on her face. "But as a friend and master, I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. And if Issei trusts you, I shall trust you. But I hope that you will be able to confide in us one day."

"Thank you," Sid replied in a quiet tone and squeezed Issei's shoulder.

The boy then understood that Sid wanted to entrust them with this secret.

But he wasn't sure if they could protect it like him. Not yet.

The teenager's face filled with determination.

Issei would make them trust each other. Both sides were his friends, so it was only natural to bring them together.

Besides, Sid could need more people to talk to about his...problems other than himself and the others.

Anyway, with the "negotiations" finished, Rias stood up with a casual smirk.

"You still need to meet the other devil responsible for this place. Issei, Asia, you too."

The two newly reincarnated devils shared a glance of confusion while Sid blinked incomprehensibly.

There was another one?


End file.
